Residues of veterinary drugs and other substances found in animals and animal-derived food continue to decline in the European Union and compliance levels are on the rise, the latest data reveals.

EFSA’s annual report for 2021 includes data reported by Member States, Iceland and Norway. The number of tested samples slightly increased compared to 2020.
In 2021, the percentage of non-compliant samples was 0.17%, which is the lowest figure registered in the past 12 years when non-compliance ranged from 0.19% to 0.37%. The figure for 2020 was 0.19%.

The overall level of non-compliance in targeted samples (i.e. those taken to detect illegal uses or check non-compliance with the maximum permitted levels) also decreased to 0.24%, compared to 0.27%-0.35% over the previous four years.

The report covers various substance groups including hormones, antibacterials, environmental contaminants, prohibited substances and other veterinary drugs.
The full dataset – comprising around 13 million analytical results – is available on the EFSA Knowledge Junction, an open repository that is meant to improve transparency, reproducibility, and reusability of evidence in food and feed safety risk assessments.