§ Dr. IddonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions in the last 12 months the Medicines Control Agency has taken action to commence the process of removing from the market products which it accepts as safe but which it considers to be unlicensed herbal medicines requiring a product licence. [79486]
§ Ms JowellThe Medicines Control Agency cannot accept that a herbal medicine is definitively safe unless this has been proven through the licensing process. The MCA is bound to ensure, in accordance with the law, the withdrawal of all unlicensed herbal medicines which are not exempt from licensing. In the past 12 months, except for the two occasions when immediate removal on safety grounds has been effected, compliance with the law has been achieved without the need for the MCA to enforce immediate removal of a herbal medicine from the market.