ALMATY (KazTAG) — The Eurasian Economic Commission (ECE) has published the maximum permissible residue levels of veterinary medicines which can be contained in unprocessed food products of animal origin, including raw materials, as well as methods for their determination. The decree comes into effect on August 14.

In a message released today, it is explained

The list does not oblige to conduct production control for the presence of all veterinary medicines included in it. At the same time, entrepreneurs are given the opportunity to implement an approach based on risk assessment. This means that when purchasing raw materials, for example meat, receiving information from the supplier about the antibiotics used, the processor, if it deems it necessary, can check the product for the presence of residues of precisely these antibiotics. At the same time, the document gives the right to entrepreneurs to use any research methods, which greatly simplifies their work.

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Since August 14, the authorized bodies of the member states of the Union will be able to apply restrictive measures for unprocessed food products of animal origin only if antibiotics are detected in quantities exceeding the permissible levels listed in the list and only using research methods included in list.

It is also explained that this decision of the ECE has been prepared in the development of the provisions of Clause 3, Article 13 of TR TS 021/2011 “On Food Safety”. In accordance with this technical regulation, unprocessed food raw materials of animal origin:

[…] should be obtained from healthy productive animals after the expiration of the removal from the organism of such animals of medicinal products for veterinary use, including antibiotics.

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This norm is often interpreted as a requirement of zero content of veterinary medicinal products, which contradicts the international practice of regulating the use of veterinary drugs and rationing of residual amounts in unprocessed animal products. The decision of the college is aimed at resolving this problem.