NEW DELHI, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- India's federal health ministry has confirmed that samples of Coldrif cough syrup in the southern state of Tamil Nadu contained diethylene glycol (DEG) beyond permissible limits, multiple local media reports said Saturday.
The statement comes amid investigations into the deaths of 12 children allegedly linked to the consumption of cough syrups in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
The ministry, however, said samples taken from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have not shown the presence of DEG or ethylene glycol (EG).
A health ministry statement quoted in the media said that samples of Coldrif cough syrup were taken at the request of the Madhya Pradesh government from the manufacturing premises of M/S Sresan Pharma in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. "The samples are found to contain DEG beyond the permissible limit," the statement said.
The ministry added that risk-based inspections have been initiated at the manufacturing premises of all 19 drugs sampled, spread across six states.
In 2023, the World Health Organization issued alerts for a made-in-India cough syrup found in the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Iraq, highlighting that they contain "unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol." ■