Congress asks J&J chief to testify about recall

Congress has called Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) CEO Bill Weldon (photo)  on the carpet. House lawmakers are planning a hearing on J&J's recent recall later this month--and they've asked Weldon to testify.

It's just the latest rumble from Capitol Hill about the recall. Last week, lawmakers wrote the company and the FDA demanding details. Further information is set for delivery to Congress today, including data about complaints from consumers that, according to the FDA report, J&J did not investigate.

J&J recalled the drugs after FDA inspectors found contaminated ingredients, grimy conditions and process deficiencies at a Pennsylvania plant run by J&J subsidiary McNeil Consumer Healthcare. The company has shut down that plant, promising to fix the manufacturing problems.

But it couldn't shut off the barrage of questions from consumers and congressional reps, who noted that this latest recall was the fourth for J&J in recent months. And industry experts have since told CNN Money that conditions at the Pennsylvania plant were "shocking" and the inspectors' complaints were far-reaching.

Weldon's testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wouldn't be his first public statement about the recall. On the company's blog last week, he promised to chase down the manufacturing problems and expressed disappointment in the recall. He followed up with an apology via Fortune. Stay tuned for more.

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