Report for 2009 on the results from the monitoring of veterinary medicinal product residues and other substances in live animals and animal products

In the framework of article 31 of Regulation EC 178/2002, the European Commission asked the European Food Safety Authority to summarise the results of residue monitoring in live animals and animal products in the European Union. The present report summarises the 764 736 monitoring data available from 2009 in the 27 Member States. A total of 445 968 targeted samples and 38 119 suspect samples were reported under the Directive 96/23/EC. Additionally, 280 649 samples tested by inhibitor tests were reported by one Member State. The minimum requirements for sampling frequency laid down in Council Directive 96/23/EC and in Commission Decision 97/747/EC have been fulfilled in 2009 for the vast majority of the Member States. It was not possible to calculate the percentage of positive samples for a specific substance nor to ascertain whether these vary significantly between successive years. Although there were variations in the sampling plans and substances analysed making a comparison difficult, the residue situation in 2009 was similar to the previous two years for all substance groups. There were 1 406 non-compliant samples (0.32 %) out of the total targeted samples. The frequency of non-compliant samples within the substance groups was 0.46 % for antithyroid agents, 0.39 % for steroids, 0.17 % for resorcylic acid lactones, 0.01 % for beta-agonists, 0.07 % for prohibited substances, 0.21 % for antibacterials, 0.16 % for anthelmintics, 1 % for anticoccidials, 0.02 % for carbamates and pyrethroids, 0.11 % for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and 0.21 % for other pharmacologically active substances. There were no non-compliant samples for stilbenes and sedatives. In the group of “other substances and environmental contaminants” there were 2.25 % non-compliant samples for chemical elements, 0.19 % for organochlorine compounds, 0.04 % for organophosphorus compounds, 0.22 % for mycotoxins, and 1.65 % for dyes.