Vol. 45, No. 4, 2001
VETERINARY DRUG RESIDUES AND THE SAFETY OF FOODS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN (Current Issues)
Kožárová, I., Máté, D., Cabadaj, R.
University of Veterinary Medicine
Komenského 73
041 81 Košice
The Slovak Republic
Summary
The current agricultural practice and rearing of animals for food depends heavily on the use of pharmacologically active compounds - veterinary drugs. Such drugs are beneficial to animal health, animal welfare, and the economic returns on animal rearing. The use of veterinary drugs has helped to increase the food supply, however, their negative consequences, such as the presence of drug residues in foods, cannot be ignored. The presence of drug residues in foods can be a health hazard to consumers.
The safety of food is a cause for growing consumer concern on a worldwide scale. Today's consumers require the safest possible food in sufficient quantities at a reasonable price. In order to protect the health of consumers of foods of animal origin, it is necessary to lay down effective and unified official monitoring and testing programmes for the control of veterinary drug residues in foods of animal origin. National reference and control laboratories should carry out these programmes in accordance with the accepted veterinary-hygiene legislation.
Key words: veterinary drugs; residues; legislation; monitoring
References
Folia Veterinaria / 2001