According to the order, no registered medical professional, retailer, distributor, hospital, healthcare facility, etc. in Punjab may buy, sell, or use Coldrif syrup.
After 14 children in Madhya Pradesh died from suspected renal failure after consuming Coldrif cough syrup, the governments of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have outlawed the product’s sale, distribution, and use.
The syrup, batch number SR-13, produced in May 2025 by Sresan Pharma in Sunguvarchathiram, Kancheepuram District, Tamil Nadu, is purportedly tainted with the extremely toxic chemical Diethylene Glycol (DEG).
According to a Punjab Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) order, “This office has learned that the government analyst, drugs testing laboratory, and FDA, Madhya Pradesh, have determined that Coldrif syrup is not of standard quality.”
Given the gravity of the situation, the medicine formulation is allegedly contaminated since it contains diethylene glycol (46.28 percent w/v), which is harmful to health. Recent child fatalities in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara area have been connected to the aforementioned product. In the interest of the public, the aforementioned product is hereby strictly forbidden from being sold, distributed, or used in the state of Punjab.
According to the order, no registered medical professional, retailer, distributor, hospital, healthcare facility, etc. in Punjab may buy, sell, or use the aforementioned product.
“The FDA (drugs wing) may receive the information if there is any stock of the drug in the State,” it continued.
In the meantime, Himachal Pradesh has outright banned Coldrif cough syrup.
Although the Madhya Pradesh Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has awarded the Himachal Pradesh cough medication Nastro-DS a clean sheet, its production has been halted and is currently being investigated in light of the deaths of children.
A team from the state drug controller recently investigated the facilities of five drug businesses, including Aqunova Pharma, which supplied cough syrups to Madhya Pradesh, in response to the Madhya Pradesh government’s request for a probe into Nastro-DS.
Last week, Nastro-DS samples were gathered by the Madhya Pradesh FDA. Aqunova Pharma, a pharmaceutical company situated in Baddi in the Solan district of Himachal Pradesh, produced it.
Dr. Manish Kapoor, the drug controller for Himachal Pradesh, stated that the state has outright prohibited Coldrif cough syrup. “The Coldrif cough syrup samples had a significant percentage of DEG, according to the lab testing. The sale and purchase of Coldrif are prohibited by the state drug controller administration’s decision. He advised anyone who learns of this syrup’s availability to notify the drug controller’s office as away.
“The Madhya Pradesh FDA declared that Nastro-DS was safe to eat. Diethylene glycol (DEG) was found to be present in Nastro-DS cough syrup samples below allowable limits, according to laboratory examination. We have been informed of the test findings by the Madhya Pradesh FDA.
After the Madhya Pradesh FDA collected the samples, Aqunova Pharma voluntarily chose to halt production of Nastro-DS cough medication. Only after the FDA formally notifies them of the test results may the company start up again. The production is currently on hold,” he stated.
Additionally, the government of Himachal Pradesh instructed the drug inspectors to collect samples of all cough syrups made in the state containing propylene glycol from the production facilities, retail outlets, and distributors once a month for laboratory analysis.
This will guarantee the sale of high-quality syrups and help rule out the production and distribution of syrups containing harmful contaminants.
