EFSA Report 2017 veterinary medicinal product residues and other substances.
EFSA has published its report on 2017 results from the monitoring of veterinary medicinal product residues and other substances in live animals and animal products.
A total of 708 880 samples were checked by 28 Member States. The non-compliance rate for 2017 was 0.35%, comparable to the previous 10 years (0.25% – 0.37%).
The presence of unauthorised substances and residues of veterinary medicinal products in food is a risk factor for public health.
Three main European texts govern the rules applicable to veterinary residues and prohibited substances:
– Regulation (EU) No 37/2010establishes maximum limits for residues of veterinary medicinal products in food-producing animals and animal products.
– Regulation No 396/2005 sets maximum residue limits for pesticides in food and feed of plant and animal origin.
– Directive 96/23/EC lays down measures to monitor certain substances and their residues, mainly veterinary medicinal products, in live animals and animals products.
The products analysed in 2017 are as follows: bovines, pigs, sheep and goats, horses, poultry, rabbits, farmed game, wild game, aquaculture, milk, eggs and honey.
For group A:
– No non-compliant samples were reported for stilbenes and derivatives (A1).
– For antithyroid agents (A2), there were 0.42% non-compliant samples, all for thiouracil, most likely due to feeding diets rich in cruciferous plants.
– In the group of steroids (A3), non-compliant samples (all for anabolic steroids) were found in bovines (0.28%), pigs (0.11%) and sheep and goats (5.77 %). For corticosteroids, non-compliant results for authorised substances were reported under ‘other pharmacologically active substances’ (B2f).
– In the group of resorcylic acid lactones (A4), 0.17% of the samples were non-compliant for zearalanone and derivatives; the non-compliant samples were found in bovines (0.29%), sheep and goats (1.23%) and horses (0.97%).
– For beta-agonists (A5), there were 0.02% non-compliant samples in total, all reported for bovines.
– Prohibited substances (A6) were found in 0.03% of samples. Substances identified were. The substances identified were chloramphenicol, nitroimidazoles and nitrofurans.
For group B:
– For antibacterials (B1), 0.26% of samples were non-compliant. The highest frequency of non-compliant samples for antibacterial agents was observed in honey (0.83%)
– In group B2 (other veterinary drugs), the highest proportion of non-compliant samples was found for NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) (0.27%). Non-compliant samples were reported across the different species as follows; 0.05% for bovines, 0.06% for sheep and goats, 0.66% for horses, 0.06% for pigs and 0.96% for milk.
– In Group B3 (other substances and environmental contaminants), cadmium, lead, mercury and copper had the highest overall percentage of non-compliant samples (4.69%).
Please note that our laboratory has developed an innovative method for the analysis of veterinary medicinal product residues on a number of chemical families unrivalled in France.
The Phytocontrol laboratory is thus able to detect and quantify a large list of veterinary medicinal product residues using a high-performance HPLC-QTOF technique, supplemented with LC-MS/MS, in a package that also includes Chloramphenicol.
For any technical, pricing or regulatory information, do not hesitate to contact us.
