Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government on Saturday imposed an immediate statewide ban on the sale and distribution of Coldrif syrup following laboratory tests that confirmed dangerously high levels of a toxic chemical linked to the deaths of nine children in Chhindwara district. The directive comes a day after Tamil Nadu banned the same syrup from October 1, following suspicions that it was connected to the deaths of 11 children in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
MP Chief Minister Mohan Yadav described the deaths as “extremely tragic” and announced that the sale of Coldrif and other products from the same manufacturer, Sresan Pharmaceutical, would be prohibited across the state. “The syrup manufacturing factory is located in Kanchipuram. After learning of the incident, we requested Tamil Nadu to investigate, and the report was received this morning. Strict action has been taken based on the findings,” the CM said. The state has formed a special probe panel to investigate the matter, with the Chief Minister warning that those responsible “will not be spared at any cost.” The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an order in this regard, directing its inspectors to impose a ban on the sale and distribution of the cough syrup across the state. The FDA order cited laboratory tests showing that samples of the syrup contained 48.6 per cent diethylene glycol (DEG), a poisonous industrial solvent, far exceeding the permissible limit of 0.1 per cent. The batch in question, SR-13, was manufactured in May 2025 and is set to expire in April 2027. The Director of Drugs Control, Tamil Nadu, had declared it Not of Standard Quality (NSQ). In Madhya Pradesh, seven of the nine children who died were under four years of age.
In its order, the FDA has directed its field staff to remove the syrup from all retail and wholesale outlets, collect samples for urgent testing and delivery to state laboratories, freeze and test other stocks under their jurisdiction, extend scrutiny to other drugs from Sresan Pharmaceutical, and maintain strict vigilance over the product’s movement across the state. On Friday, the Centre issued a nationwide advisory instructing all states and Union Territories to avoid prescribing cough and cold medications to children under two years of age. The guidance, issued by the DGHS, comes in the wake of child fatalities in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.