USDA Announces Meeting on Codex Agenda Targeting Veterinary Drug Residues

The Office of the Acting Deputy Undersecretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Food and Drug Administration have announced a public meeting on April 29, 2009, to discuss draft U.S. positions for the 18th Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) slated for May 11-15, 2009, in Natal, Brazil. CCRVDF works to (i) establish “priorities for the consideration of residues of veterinary drugs in foods”; (ii) “recommend maximum levels of such substances”; (iii) “develop codes of practice as may be required”; and (iv) consider methods of sampling and analysis for the determination of veterinary drug residues in foods.”

The session will include agenda items related to (i) the “registration of veterinary medicinal products”; (ii) “draft guidelines for the design and implementation of national regulatory food safety assurance programs”; and (iii) a “draft priority list of veterinary drugs requiring evaluation or reevaluation.” See Federal Register, April 10, 2009.