Proposed warning statements for substances (eg, allergens) in medicines that may cause undesirable reactions
Results updated 23 Sep 2020
The outcome of this consultation is available on the Medsafe website.
Medsafe would like to thank all those who took the time to respond to the consultation and provide comments.
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Published responses
View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
Overview
This Medsafe consultation proposes labelling requirements for substances/groups of substances in medicines and related products that may cause an undesirable reaction (eg, allergies) in some people.
Unlike foods, most medicines and related products are not required to list all the ingredients that are included in the medicine on the label. The active ingredient will always be on the medicine label, but only some inactive ingredients, also called excipients, must be on the label. Also, some potential allergens, such as impurities from manufacturing, may not be on the label.
We will implement these new labelling requirements through the Label Statements Database. This database lists the warning and advisory statements that are required on medicine and related product labels under the Medicines Regulations 1984.
We are seeking your views on having warning statements for the substances/groups of substances listed below.
Substances to be included in the Label Statements Database
Antibiotics | Lactose | Sodium salts |
---|---|---|
Aspartame | Milk and milk products | Sorbic acid and sorbic acid salts |
Benzoates | Peanuts and peanut products | Soya beans and soya bean products |
Crustacea and crustacean products | Phenylalanine | Sucralose |
Egg, egg products | Pollen | Sugar alcohols |
Ethanol* | Potassium salts | Sugars |
Fish and products | Propolis | Sulfites |
Galactose | Royal jelly | Tartrazine* |
Gluten | Saccharin | Tree nuts and tree nut products |
Hydroxybenzoic acid esters | Sesame and sesame seed products |
* Ethanol and tartrazine are already included in the Label Statements Database, but we are proposing changes to the conditions and/or statements.
What happens next
All comments will be considered. Once the analysis of submissions is complete, the Label Statements Database may be updated to include some or all of the new statements.
We will publish the outcome on the Outcome of Consultations web page on the Medsafe website.
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Audiences
- Members of the public
- Health sector
- Ministry staff
- Pharmaceutical companies
Interests
- Therapeutic products
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