Veterinary drug residues in animals and animal-derived food continue decline

AN annual report published on Thursday, February 23 by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) revealed that “residues of veterinary drugs and other substances found in animals and animal-derived food continue to decline in the European Union”.

The latest data revealed that compliance levels are on the rise after the EFSA announced that veterinary drug residues in animals and animal-derived food are continuing to decline.

“EFSA’s annual report for 2021 includes data reported by Member States, Iceland and Norway. The number of tested samples slightly increased compared to 2020,” the report read.

“In 2021, the percentage of non-compliant samples was 0.17 per cent, which is the lowest figure registered in the past 12 years when non-compliance ranged from 0.19 per cent to 0.37 per cent. The figure for 2020 was 0.19 per cent.”

It added: “The overall level of non-compliance in targeted samples (i.e. those taken to detect illegal uses or check non-compliance with the maximum permitted levels) also decreased to 0.24 per cent, compared to 0.27 per cent – 0.35 per cent over the previous four years.

The report also covered various substance groups including hormones, antibacterials, environmental contaminants, prohibited substances and other veterinary drugs, it noted.

“The full dataset – comprising around 13 million analytical results – is available on the EFSA Knowledge Junction, an open repository that is meant to improve transparency, reproducibility, and reusability of evidence in food and feed safety risk assessments,” it concluded.

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