Teva Canada Recalls Novo-Gesic Forte Acetaminophen Lot Over Possible Foreign Material Contamination

Health Canada announced on September 10, 2026 that Teva Canada Limited is recalling one lot of the non-prescription pain reliever Novo-Gesic Forte 500 mg (acetaminophen) tablets because the tablets may contain phenolic resin or epoxy particles. Ingesting this foreign material could cause injury to the digestive tract. The affected lot, No. 100083040, carries an expiry date of January 31, 2029, and is identified nationally by DIN 00482323. Teva supplied the lot to pharmacies in 1,000-count bulk bottles, which pharmacy staff typically repackage into smaller quantities for individual patients. That distribution pattern matters operationally: the outer container a patient has at home will rarely resemble the original 1,000-count bottle, so confirming exposure depends on matching internal dispensing records to the lot number rather than on patients recognizing anything unusual about their own bottle.

Affected product at a glance

Practice guidance for pharmacists

• Search dispensing records for lot 100083040 against every acetaminophen 500 mg sale and repackaged vial since the shipment was received -- patients cannot identify the affected lot from a relabelled bottle.
• Quarantine and physically segregate any remaining bulk stock from lot 100083040 immediately, and hold it pending Teva's return instructions rather than continuing to dispense from it.
• Contact affected patients proactively to arrange return and replacement, particularly those on standing refills or long-term acetaminophen therapy, rather than waiting for them to see a public recall notice.
• Counsel returning patients to watch for gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain, difficulty swallowing, or unusual irritation, since the risk from resin or epoxy particles is mechanical and irritant rather than hepatotoxic.
• Document any suspected exposure or adverse event and report it both to Health Canada through the Canada Vigilance Program and to Teva Canada Medical Affairs (druginfo@tevacanada.com).
• Add a point-of-sale or dispensing-software alert for lot 100083040 so any remaining inbound stock is blocked automatically at the register.

Foreign-material contamination recalls are less common than potency or labelling recalls, and they typically point to a manufacturing-line control failure rather than a formulation problem -- Health Canada's notice does not indicate any other lots of Novo-Gesic Forte are affected. Because this is a widely dispensed over-the-counter analgesic sold in bulk pharmacy-repackaging format, community pharmacies carry most of the responsibility for identifying affected patients, since neither retail packaging nor patient self-recognition can substitute for a lot-number check against dispensing records.