§ Mr. BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) on which date it was decided to discontinue use of those human vaccines which in their early stage of manufacture had used bovine material prohibited for use in human food; [78595]
(2) what was the last date on which human vaccines, where bovine material prohibited for use in human food was used in the early stage of manufacture, were used on humans; [78594]
(3) how those human vaccines, which in their early stage of manufacture used bovine material prohibited for use in human food, were disposed of. [78596]
§ Ms JowellNo vaccine has been disposed of or discontinued because of use in the early stage of manufacture of bovine material which is prohibited for use in human food. Bovine material prohibited from use in the human food chain is not prohibited from use in the manufacture of medicinal products, including vaccines, but manufacturers are required to apply stringent quality measures to these materials to ensure their quality and safety. These quality measures have been in place since 1989, and require manufacturers to source material from countries with no reported cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, to consider the potential infectivity of tissues used and to comply with rigorous provisions on processing and quality control.