The Tamil Nadu government has prohibited the sale of cough syrup ‘Coldrif’ and ordered its withdrawal from the market after it was suspiciously associated with the deaths of 11 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The sale of cough syrup produced by the city-based company has been banned throughout Tamil Nadu, according to an official from the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (FSDAD).
Inspections took place at the pharmaceutical company’s production site in Sunguvarchathram, located in the adjacent Kancheepuram district over the past two days, and samples were gathered.
He stated that the company provides the medications to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Puducherry.
The specimens would be dispatched to government-operated labs to check for the chemical ‘Diethylene Glycol’.
The food safety official stated, “The department has been instructed to halt the sale of the syrup and freeze the inventory starting October 1.” The Union Government will also test the samples obtained from the facility.
Previously, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) released a warning regarding the use of cough syrups in young children after the fatalities of 11 minors in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Initial investigations indicated that a minimum of five of the deceased children had ingested Coldrif syrup, whereas one had used Nextro syrup. As a result, private practitioners have been directed not to handle viral infections on their own and to promptly refer these cases to public hospitals
