§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the name of the expert from the Medicines Control Agency who advised the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee concerning the use of gelatine produced from non-specified bovine offal material; and what are that person's qualifications and experience concerning the study of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. [33137]
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what new information was available to the 493W Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee by 25 March, concerning potential contamination of gelatine by BSE infectivity to result in the alteration of existing advice outlined in the British Medical Journal of 20 April, page 988, issued by the Committee on Safety of Medicines in 1989 and adopted by the European Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products; and if he will make a statement. [33138]
§ Mr. HoramThe article in theBritish Medical Journal of 20 April, page 988, reviewed the history and content of the 1989 United Kingdom bovine spongiform encephalopathy guidelines and the later 1992 Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products guideline, "Minimizing the risk of transmitting agents causing spongiform encephalopathy via medicinal products", and concluded the guidelines were effective.
The CPMP guideline states:
Given assurances of adequate collection and processing, certain materials and their derivatives are unlikely to present any risk of contamination. These include … skin and its derivatives, for example gelatin".
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has accepted the advice of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee, issued on 25 March, in respect of the safety of gelatine from non-specified bovine material in pharmaceutical and medical devices; and if he will make a statement. [33139]
§ Mr. HoramThe Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee is the expert committee set up to advise my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health and my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food on all matters to do with spongiform encephalopathies. Ministers have always accepted their advice and take account of it when implementing measures to protect public health.