Report for 2019 on the results from the monitoring of veterinary medicinal product residues and other substances in live animals and animal products

The report summarises the monitoring data collected in 2019 on the presence of residues of veterinary medicinal products and certain substances in live animals and animal products in the European Union, Iceland and Norway. A total of 671,642 samples were reported to the European Commission by the 27 out of the 28 EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. They consisted of 368,594 targeted samples and 5,016 suspect samples reported under Council Directive 96/23/EC, and of 2,342 samples collected at import and 295,690 samples collected in the framework of programmes developed under the national legislation. The majority of countries fulfilled the minimum requirements for sampling frequency laid down in Council Directive 96/23/EC and in Commission Decision 97/747/EC. Overall, the percentage of non‐compliant samples in 2019 (0.32%) was comparable to the previous 11 years (0.25%‐0.37%).Compared to the results from 2017 and 2018, in 2019 the frequency of non‐compliant results was slightly increased for antithyroid agents and steroids. For chemical elements, compared to 2018, the frequency of non‐compliance in 2019 was higher, although lower compared to 2017. Slight decreases were noted in 2019, for resorcylic acid lactones, prohibited substances, antibacterials, anticoccidials, and dyes, compared to 2017 and 2018.