Comparison of international legislation and standards on veterinary drug residues in food of animal origin

• Published in: Journal of public health policy Vol. 40; no. 3; pp. 308 - 341
• Main Authors: Léger, Anaïs, Alban, Lis, Veldhuis, Anouk, van Schaik, Gerdien, Stärk, Katharina D. C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer Science + Business Media 01.09.2019; Palgrave Macmillan UK; Palgrave Macmillan
• Subjects: Animals; Chemicals; Chloramphenicol; Chloramphenicol - analysis; Chloromycetin; Customs; Customs unions; Doxycycline; Doxycycline - analysis; Drug Residues - adverse effects; Equality and Human Rights; European Union; Farmers; Food; Food consumption; Food Contamination - legislation & jurisprudence; Food Contamination - prevention & control; Health initiatives; Healthy food; Humans; Kidney - chemistry; Kidneys; Legislation; Legislation, Food - standards; Levels; Meat; Meat - adverse effects; Meat - analysis; Medical Sociology; Medicine; Organic chemistry; ORIGINAL ARTICLE; Penicillin; Penicillins - analysis; Pork; Public Health; Residues; Russia; Social Justice; Social Policy; Social Sciences; Sociology; Swine; Tetracycline; Tetracycline - analysis; Tetracyclines; United States; Veterinary Drugs - adverse effects; Veterinary Drugs - analysis; Veterinary medicine; Veterinary surgeons; United States; Russia; United States > US; Antibiotic residues; Veterinary public health; Legislative comparisons; SWOT analysis
• ISSN: 0197-5897; 1745-655X
• DOI: 10.1057/s41271-019-00169-2

Current legislation governing monitoring of drug residues in foodstuff of animal origin is being revised at the European level. This study provides a qualitative comparison of the legislation, public and private standards in the European Union, the United States of America (USA) and the Eurasian Customs Union/Russia. We made a quantitative comparison of Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) applied in each region for pork kidneys for tetracycline (with a focus on doxycycline), penicillin and chloramphenicol. The Customs Union generally applied lower levels than the other regions, with MRLs for tetracyclines in pig kidneys being 1200 times lower than those applied in the USA. Growing consumer interest and concern about chemicals in their food could be leveraged to support and enhance the implementation of new initiatives to improve veterinary public health. Farmers and veterinarians could help reduce findings of drug residues in meat through the judicious use of preventive actions when using veterinary medicine.