Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has plans to help ensure that medicines are labelled to indicate whether they are suitable for (a) vegetarians and (b) vegans.

Part 13 of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 states that the primary purpose of the label is to unambiguously identify the medicine and to convey key warning statements in relation to safe and effective use of the product. There is no legal requirement for a pharmaceutical manufacturer to state whether a medicine is suitable for vegetarians or vegans. However, the legislation allows for the inclusion of a statement such as ‘suitable for vegetarians/vegans’ where a manufacturer can provide evidence to demonstrate that no products of animal origin have been used in the manufacture of the ingredients or the medicine. Where such a statement on the labelling or in the patient information leaflet is proposed, the Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory Agency will evaluate the evidence supporting this statement to determine its validity.