JOHANNESBURG, June 5 (Reuters) -

An investigation into two recalled batches of children's

cough syrup made in South Africa by Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ )

found no trace of a toxin, and no adverse events have been

reported from consuming the syrup, the country's drug regulator

said on Wednesday.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority

issued the recall in April, days after Nigeria's regulator

recalled the medicine - a batch of Benylin Paediatric Syrup made

in South Africa - over an unacceptably high level of a

potentially deadly toxic substance, diethylene glycol.

No adverse events have so far been reported in South

Africa or other African countries relating to the syrup, though

Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zimbabwe also issued recalls.

"SAHPRA also wishes to indicate that there is no record of

any adverse drug reactions relating to diethylene glycol for the

two recalled batches in South Africa or anywhere else where they

were exported to on the continent," the regulator said in a

statement.

Kenvue ( KVUE ), which owns the Benylin brand after a

spinoff from J&J last year, said its own tests of the recalled

batches found no trace of either diethylene glycol or another

closely linked toxin, ethylene glycol.

"We welcome the statement by SAHPRA reaffirming the

safety of the batches of Benylin Paediatric Syrup that were

subject to the recall," it said in a statement.

The contaminant diethylene glycol, and ethylene glycol, have

been linked to the deaths of more than 300 children in Cameroon,

Gambia, Indonesia and Uzbekistan since 2022. There is no

evidence that those incidents were linked with the recalls in

April.