There’s no batch of contaminated Johnson & Johnson cough syrup in Ghana – FDA

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) says there is no batch of contaminated Johnson & Johnson cough syrup in Ghana.

The authority in a statement issued on April 12, 2024, explained that a batch of Benylin Paediatric (100mls) Syrup, LOT No 329304 has been recalled by the Nigeria National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration (NAFDAC) from the Nigerian market due to the detection of an “unacceptable high level” of diethylene glycol (DEG) in the product.

Benylin Paediatric Syrup is a cough mixture manufactured by Johnson & Johnson (Pty), South Africa.

DEG is a chemical substance poisonous to humans and consuming it could be injurious to health, causing headache, abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, paralysis, convulsion, acute kidney disease and inability to pass urine among others, which may lead to death.

Drug regulators in Tanzania and Zimbabwe are the latest to recall the syrup as a precautionary measure, although Zimbabwe’s Medicines Control Authority said there was no record of the syrup being imported into the country.

“The FDA hereby assures the public that LOT No. 329304 is not available on our market, having reviewed all the data on the importation of the product to Ghana from 2021.

“Ongoing market surveillance efforts across the country so far confirm the absence of the lot in Ghana. The Authority has also heightened its surveillance activities at the ports with the view to prevent entry of LOT No.329304 onto the Ghanaian market”.

“The public is hereby cautioned to look out for the affected lot of Benylin Paediatric Syrup and report to any offices across the country,” the FDA statement said.

Read the full statement below;