Written question asked by Adrian Flook (Conservative) on Monday, 21 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 24 March 2005. It was answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Labour) on Thursday, 24 March 2005 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of existing arrangements for product recall following the discovery of counterfeit pharmaceutical products in the supply chain.

Answer: Mr. Flook: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of existing arrangements for product recall following the discovery of counterfeit pharmaceutical products in the supply chain. [223804] Ms Rosie Winterton: Counterfeit medicines are classified as defective medicines and as such subjected to the existing arrangements for conducting and notifying product recalls. The existing arrangements for product recalls are used on a regular basis for recalls and product safety notifications. In 2004, two suspected counterfeit products in the supply chain were recalled using the existing arrangements which operated effectively.

Secondary information