The 27th session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Food (CCRVDF) has concluded with the adoption of the report. “I was hopeful when we began this session that we would have a productive and effective meeting,” said Chairperson, Dr Brandi Robinson. “And I'm very pleased by the many accomplishments that you have achieved!”

She went on to summarize the achievements and highlighted that some of the work was only approved at CAC46 in November 2023. “That is an incredibly quick development of work,” she commented, continuing: “In their opening remarks, all three of our distinguished speakers encouraged us to continue to be innovative and forward thinking. I believe you have all risen to that challenge during this week.” She went on to make the point that forward thinking and innovation are not new to this Committee. “As I reflect on the collaborative efforts of the Members of this Committee to progress, work and provide much needed risk management advice and tools to address veterinary drug residues in food, I am encouraged and optimistic that this Committee will remain a valuable resource to its Members.”

The Committee had discussed a range of topics, including maximum residue limits (MRLs) for veterinary drugs, extrapolation of MRLs for veterinary drugs in foods to one or more species, action levels for veterinary drugs in food of animal origin resulting from unavoidable and unintentional veterinary drug carry-over in non-target animal feed, coordination of work between CCPR and CCRVDF, and a priority list of veterinary drugs for new work by CCRVDF.

Of the MRLs that were discussed, clopidol in chicken and Imidacloprid in finfish (fillet) were forwarded to CAC47 for final adoption. Progression of these MRLs had been facilitated by the efforts of JECFA to apply transparent approaches to assess compounds with limited data, taking into account the related uncertainty. Regarding extrapolation of MRLs for veterinary drugs in foods to one or more species, the proposed extrapolated MRLs for lufenuron in finfish, emamectin benzoate in finfish and ivermectin for milk of all other ruminants have also been forwarded to CAC47 for final adoption. In relation to extrapolation, the Committee also agreed on a new set of criteria for the extrapolation of MRLs to camelids and on the development of a possible approach for extrapolating MRLs to edible offal tissues other than the liver and kidney.

The Committee also completed work on the first half of an approach for providing risk management advice to address veterinary drug residues in food, due to unavoidable and unintentional carryover in feed. A priority list was also agreed upon for approval as new work by CAC47, as well as a new work proposal to develop guidance to support competent authorities to address the possible challenges posed by veterinary drug residues in food due to unavoidable and unintentional carryover in feed.

The Committee noted information on the status of work between CCPR and CCRVDF on dual-use compounds. Delegates were encouraged to participate in any eventual virtual session of the joint electronic working group, and to liaise with their counterparts working with the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues.

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CCRVDF27 webpage