Indian firm used toxic industrial-grade ingredient in syrup

Indian firm used toxic industrial-grade ingredient in syrup

Subject :Science and technology

Section :Health

Context: The Indian manufacturer of cough syrups that Uzbekistan said last year had poisoned 19 children used a toxic industrial-grade ingredient rather than the legitimate pharmaceutical version, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Details:

The company, Marion Biotech, bought the ingredient — propylene glycol (PG) — from trader Maya Chemtech India.

Maya did not have a licence to sell pharmaceutical-grade materials and “dealt in industrial-grade only,”

Various sources said the syrup was made with industrial-grade PG, a toxic material widely used in liquid detergents, antifreeze, paints or coatings, and to enhance the effectiveness of pesticides.

They were supposed to take Indian Pharmacopoeia-grade which is  national standards for the composition of pharmaceutical products.