Maldives reports contamination in Pakistani syrups: Reports

The incident prompted the World Health Organisation to issue an alert urging countries to step up vigilance and test products manufactured by a Lahore-based pharmaceutical company.

The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) sprang into action after getting information from the Maldives and sealed the syrup section of the company, Pharmix Lab­oratories (Pvt) Ltd, and may initiate legal action after receiving lab test reports, reported Dawn News.

According to reports, the syrups used hydraulic brake fluids, stamp pad inks, paints, plastics and cosmetics.

Fayaz Ahmed, a representative of the company, confirmed to Dawn News that Drap had sealed the firm’s syrup section, but insisted that no company does it willfully.

WHO’s medical product alert referred to five different syrups and suspension medicines initially detected in the Maldives and Pakistan and notified to the organisation on Nov 8. Some of the tainted products have also been detected in Belize, Fiji and Laos, reported Dawn News.

“The five products are Alergo Syrup, Emidone Suspension, Mucorid Syrup, Ulcofin Suspension and Zincell Syrup. A total of 23 batches of these products are affected. The stated manufacturer of all the affected products is Pharmix Laboratories (Pvt) Ltd Pakistan,” WHO said in a statement as quoted by the newspaper.

“In November 2023, samples of five different batches of Alergo syrup were screened for non-compliance by the quality control laboratory of the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) in accordance with the thin-layer chromatography (TLC) test for diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG) for inclusion in the International Pharmacopoeia. The routine screening detected potentially unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants,” it stated.

A pharmacist told Dawn on condition of anonymity that DEG and EG were used world over in liquid preparation for antifreeze e.g. hydraulic brake fluids, stamp pad inks, ballpoint pens, solvents, paints, plastics, films and cosmetics.