View Document - Parliament of South Africa

719 THURSDAY, 23 OCTOBER 2008
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(b) Not applicable.
(2) In the entire 18 pages of the Final
Recommendations of the International
Panel on Asgisa, there is no single
reference to health, health care or
health service delivery.
(a) Not applicable.
(b) Not applicable.
Determination of Single Exit Price
1459. Mr M WATERS (DA) asked the
Minister of Health:
(1) (a) What criteria was used in determining
the single exit price (SEP) (i)
in 2004, (ii) in 2005, (iii) in 2006 (iv)
in 2007 and (v) during the period
1 January 2008 up to the latest specified
date for which information is
available and (b) what were the
reasons for changing the criteria;
(2) whether the SEP has been increased
every year since 2004; if not, why
not; if so, what was the average
increase?
The MINISTER OF HEALTH:
NW2167E
(1) (a) The SEP is the sum of the manufacturer
price, logistics fee and
VAT.
(i) In 2003 manufacturer price less
rebates, discounts and any other
incentive scheme was used to
determine the SEP. The logistics
fee was reported by the
manufacturer after negotiations
with logistics service providers.
(ii) The same criteria used in 2004.
(iii) The same used in 2005.
(iv) The same used in 2006.
(v) The same used in 2008.
(b) The criteria have never been
changed since the Medicine Pricing
Regulations define how the
SEP must be calculated.
(2) The SEP must be reviewed annually in
terms of the Medicine Pricing Regulations.
In 2005 the SEP increase could
not be implemented due to the legal
challenges against the regulations. The
SEP increase calculated in 2006 took
into account the 2005 period. The
pharmaceutical industry suggested in
their submission to the Pricing Committee
that the 2007 SEP increase
should be implemented at the same
time as the international benchmarking
process. Late in 2007 the industry
withdrew this suggestion and wanted
the SEP increase to be implemented.
Hence the 2007 price was implemented
in March 2008.
Banned substance in foodstuff
1542. Mr M WATERS (DA) asked the
Minister of Health:
(1) Whether E127 colourant is a banned
substance for food stuff; if not, what
is the position in this regard; if so,
what are the relevant details;
(2) whether a certain product (name
furnished) produced by a certain
company (name furnished) was
(3)
found to contain E127 colourant in
2008; if so, what legal action was
taken against the producer;
whether the public was informed in
this regard; if not, why not; if so, (a)
which media was used to inform the
public and (b) when?
The MINISTER OF HEALTH:
NW2265E
(1) No, Erythrosine BS, also referred to as
E127, is currently permitted in terms of
the colourants regulations published
under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and
Disinfectants Act, Act 54 of 1972,
(Annexure IV) for use in sugar confectionery,
cocktail cherries, cherries in
syrup and processed meat, but not in
any other foodstuffs. The rationale for