AHMEDABAD, 27 NOV: If
your cough syrup has not shown the desired affect it claims on the
labels recently, it could mean that the manufacturer has added less
quantities of the active medicine. This is one of the ways in which the
manufacturers are trying to cut corners, the Gujarat Food and Drugs
Control Administration (FDCA) found in the latest tests they did
.
For instance, on Saturday, the FDCA found that Oriphex dry
syrup's October 2011 batch had just 75 per cent of the claimed active
drug on the label. "Normally a five per cent variation in the quantity
of active drug component in the syrup is bearable-which means 95 per
cent. But in this Oriphex batch, the manufacturer had 25 per cent less
active drug component according to our laboratory," says food and drugs
commissioner HG Koshia.
In another case, the FDCA found the normal rolled gauze that
hospitals use to nurse and cover wounds was found not meeting standards
as the weave was less than what was prescribed. The FDCA declared the
gauze by Kohinoor products as substandard. "We count the number of
weaves per square centimeter in the gauze, the thickness and quality of
the thread used in the gauze and basic things like whether they are
neatly packed. This is because this gauze is directly placed on the
wound," says Koshia.
The FDCA has been sending warning SMSs to all pharmacists in the
state directly from its laboratories regarding any substandard drug. The
regulator has uploaded a new feature in its official website enabling
citizens to verify whether the purchased drug meets the specified
standards. Here citizens may just enter the drug name and batch number
and can verify it instantly.
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