Veterinary Drug Residues & MRLs

Summary

The monitoring and controlling of veterinary residues in animal food products is a result of the heightened awareness of consumers. They require objective information that what they put on their plates is safe. This phenomenon has fuelled the need for quality assurance upon which international food trade is dependent. A recent survey commissioned by the European Union (EU) found that food safety is a major concern of European consumers. More than 60 per cent of the 23,000 people taking part indicated that they were "very concerned about the safety of food" when it came to chemical contaminants, which include veterinary drugs.

This report provides an overview of how regulatory bodies around the world control and monitor veterinary drug residues in samples taken from foodproducing animals. They include countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australasia. The international framework - as established by the Codex Alimentarius (Codex) under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) - for controlling residues is also discussed, as are detection techniques
Country chapters include information on the laws in place to ensure that residues are kept in check, with details of maximum residue limits (MRLs) in force and data tables, where the most recent results of sample testing are summarised. The countries covered in this report are:

The most commonly featured commodity is meat, specifically from cattle, pig, chicken and sheep; also summarised to a certain degree are data on eggs, milk and aquaculture products. As far as supranational bodies are concerned, the report contains a detailed chapter on the EU and its 25 member states. The bloc plays an important role in determining food safety worldwide, given the substantial food imports it receives from outside its borders.
It was not possible to include data for all the countries covered in this report as some chose not to make such information available to the author. That is not to say that these countries do not monitor residues at all. Some of them do conduct stringent monitoring for the purpose of exporting to markets, which employ high standards when it comes to food quality, such as in Europe. However, this data is not normally for public consumption and there appears to be a reluctance to release them to other parties
Two chapters are devoted to the major causes of residues and detection techniques. The former considers the "usual suspects", i.e. substances, which are either banned in the treatment of food-producing animals and/or those whose residual presence are required by law to be within strictly defined limits. It also outlines husbandry practices, which result in residues.

The section on detection discusses testing techniques, which are widely used in this arena, such as rapid immunological tests, liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry, to name a few. Also considered are novelties on the scene, such as biosensors, surface plasmon resonance and the use of alternative matrices.
Finally, horizon issues are discussed in the report's final chapter. This covers future challenges, which include the harmonisation of standards in testing and setting of MRLs, as well as technical issues, which need to be resolved to ensure the better detection and management of drug residues.

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