Residues of veterinary medicinal products on the plate: Insights from RASFF notifications

Veterinary medicinal products are widely used for disease prevention and treatment, as well as to enhance animal production. However, their inappropriate use may lead to the presence of detectable residue concentrations in food, which is increasingly associated with an important public health concern - antimicrobial resistance. Using the RASFF data over the period 2020-2025, this study evaluates food contamination with residues of veterinary medicinal products. A total of 230 notifications were recorded during the six-year study period, with the five most frequently reported countries of origin being: Vietnam (57; most commonly fish/fish products and crustaceans/crustacean products) > India (26; almost all crustaceans), Poland (24; poultry/meat and products) > the Netherlands (15; almost all meat/meat products) > Ukraine (13; almost all eggs and egg products) > Belgium (12; meat/poultry and products). Across food categories, the most frequently reported veterinary residue classes were: meat and meat products other than poultry (62; 11 nitrofuran derivatives, 7 tetracyclines) > crustaceans/crustacean products (54; 28 nitrofuran derivatives, 16 triphenyl/triaryl methane dye, 8 tetracyclines) > fish/fish products (37; 35 triphenyl/triaryl methane dye) > poultry/poultry products (30; 17 tetracyclines). While most notifications were classified as information (56.0%), nearly half (47.8%) were nonetheless assessed as posing a serious public health risk. These findings highlight the need for strict, risk-based monitoring of veterinary medicinal product residues in food. In this context, the RASFF system plays an important role in protecting consumer health both within the EU and globally.