ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the safety aspects of residues and provides a short overview of veterinary medicines, toxicity testing, residue studies, and the establishment of maximum residue limits (MRL) for food products of animal origin. MRLs are regulatory tools to specify the maximum amount of a residue of the active ingredient(s) of a particular veterinary drug that is acceptable in a particular food commodity. The Committee for Veterinary Medicinal Products of the European Commission uses a slightly different food package in setting MRLs for residues of veterinary drugs in target tissues. The Codex Alimentarius Committee is a subsidiary body of the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization that proposes standards for food safety to national governments for acceptance into the prevailing national legislation. The membership of Codex is open to all nations and the meetings are attended by formal national delegates.
