Carryover in feed and transfer from feed to food of unavoidable and unintended residues of approved veterinary drugs

Book excerpt: Carryover of veterinary drugs in feed can occur during feed processing, handling, transportation, delivery or in feeding animals on-farm. The risk of unavoidable and unintentional veterinary drug residues from feed carryover and/or transfer from feed to food of animal origin is unacceptable when it causes adverse health effects in target and/or non-target animals and/or humans consuming food originating from these animals. If carryover is not properly managed, contaminated feed can directly harm species that are sensitive to the unintended veterinary drug they consume, and /or can result in residues in food of animal origin such as meat, milk and eggs that render them unsafe for human consumption. Even if residues are not a safety hazard, they can pose regulatory and global trade issue as countries/markets may enforce a “zero” tolerance for residues when appropriate maximum residue limits have not been established. Upon request of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF), FAO and WHO convened an Expert Meeting to review the causes of veterinary drug carryover in animal feed and the transfer from feed to food, as well as the known risks to human health and international trade, and suggest appropriate risk management strategies. This report shows the results of the expert discussions, conclusions and recommendations.