March 14, 2024

Low levels of veterinary drug residues in animals, meat maintained in EU

Levels of residues from veterinary drugs and other substances found in animals and animal-derived food remain low in the European Union, according to the latest report from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

The report looks at a variety of substance groups, including hormones, antibacterials, environmental contaminants, prohibited substances and other veterinary drugs. EFSA's annual report for 2022 includes data reported by EU member states Iceland and Norway.

In 2022, the percentage of non-compliant samples was 0.18%, which is comparable to the previous 13 years when non-compliance ranged from 0.17% to 0.37%. The figure for 2021 was 0.17%. For pigs, 0.10% of the 120,882 samples tested were non-compliant in 2022.

The overall level of non-compliance in targeted samples (i.e., those taken to detect illegal use or check non-compliance with the maximum permitted levels) was 0.27% which is comparable to the previous four years (0.24%-0.35%) and slightly higher than in 2021 (0.24%).

- EFSA