EU veterinary experts published a report on Friday 22 March revealing shortcomings in China's system of residue checks in farm animals (poultry, aquaculture, rabbit meat, honey and eggs).
The EU Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) report describes the results of an audit carried out in China to assess: - adherence to, and the reliability of, the guarantees provided by the residue monitoring plans already approved by the EU (for poultry, aquaculture, rabbit, honey and eggs; - the implementation and effectiveness of national measures to ensure that the products exported to the EU comply with the specified residue limits laid down in EU legislation (veterinary medicinal products, pesticides and contaminants).
Residue monitoring plans “are elaborated in a timely fashion and are implemented as planned, supported by a pre-export testing programme, albeit one which is focused on a limited range of substances”, the report summarises. It points out that the plans are “weakened by three main factors”: - many pharmacologically active substances authorised for use in food-producing animals are not currently included in the scope of testing; - the number of samples taken is actually less than the number that should be taken; - the sampling is clustered and thus not spread evenly throughout the year/production period.
Experts indicate that the range of veterinary medicines authorised for use in food-producing animals in China differs from that of the EU. Nevertheless, the obligation to keep treatment records “adds to the guarantees that food, eligible for export to the EU market will satisfy EU maximum residue limit requirements, at least for those substances from which there are EU maximum residue limits established”, the FVO asserts.
It concludes that, “overall”, the guarantees provided by the EU-approved residue monitoring plans are “equivalent to those foreseen in the EU legislation, but the scope of testing should better reflect the availability of veterinary medicinal products on the market and specifically include those active substances for which there are no maximum residue limits established in the EU”.
To read the report, go to: https://bit.ly/2upbUJz. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)