On Wednesday 27 June, EU ambassadors meeting within the Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) confirmed the agreement reached on 19 June between the Bulgarian presidency of the Council and representatives of the European Parliament on the issue of medicated feed for animals (see EUROPE 12049).
The text of the regulation has still to be adopted formally by the European Parliament and the Council.
The new rules aim in particular to define the criteria for the approval of feed business operators and their obligations when manufacturing medicated feed. They lay down harmonised requirements in order to avoid cross contamination of active substances from veterinary medicinal products into non target feed. Within four years from the entry into force of the regulation, the Commission must set maximum levels of cross contamination for antimicrobials, based on scientific evidence provided by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) or the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The text clarifies the rules for prescription and use of medicated feed containing antimicrobials in food-producing animals, and prohibits prophylaxis (the preventive administration of antibiotics to animals). (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)