Guideline / position statementindependent cross-checkabstract only checked I-RES-01 standard review
EU limits for veterinary drug residues
Commission Regulation (EU) No 37/2010 of 22 December 2009 on pharmacologically active substances and their classification regarding maximum residue limits in foodstuffs of animal origin
Overview
European Commission. Official Journal of the EU 2010
The EU sets residue limits (e.g. emamectin 100 µg/kg in fish) and bans some drugs such as chloramphenicol and nitrofurans.
Does the study support the specific claim? Unclear · Methodological quality: high
Plain-language summary
Study explained simply
- What did the researchers want to find out?
Set MRLs.
- How was the study done?
Regulation.
- What was actually found?
MRLs and prohibitions.
- What do the results mean in everyday life?
Residues are legally limited.
- What are the study's limitations?
As-adopted text.
- What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?
Context.
- Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?
High.
Scientific in-depth review
1. Full reference
- Authors
- European Commission
- Journal
- Official Journal of the EU
- Year
- 2010
- Identifier
- Verification
- verified – Text read on legislation.gov.uk (copy of EU legislation as adopted, published up to 31 Dec 2020); EUR-Lex returned HTTP 202 (bot check) and could not be read. Fetched 2026-10-25.
- Retracted
- no
- Corrections
- none
- Extent checked
- abstract only
- Conflicts of interest and funding
not applicable (official document)
2. Research question
Which veterinary drugs are allowed and with which MRLs?
3. Study design and population
- Study design
- Guideline / position statement – EU regulation: pharmacologically active substances and MRLs in foodstuffs of animal origin
- Country
EU
- Period
2010 (as adopted)
4. Methods and endpoints
- Endpoints
MRLs
5. Actual results
- Results
Annex Table 1: emamectin (marker emamectin B1a) fin fish 100 µg/kg muscle and skin; oxytetracycline all food-producing species 100 µg/kg muscle (fin fish: muscle and skin), 600 kidney, 300 liver; gentamicin MRLs listed for bovine and porcine only (as adopted). Table 2 prohibited substances (no MRL can be established): chloramphenicol, nitrofurans (including furazolidone), metronidazole, dimetridazole, ronidazole and others.
- Absolute risks
not reported
6. Strengths
- Binding law
7. Weaknesses
- As-adopted version; later amendments not checked
8. Risk of bias
- Orienting tool
- none applicable
- Type of assessment
- simplified assessment (abstract only)
- Full formal assessment
- no
- Overall risk of bias
- not assessable
9. Assessment of the statistical interpretation
10. Relevance to the specific claim
11. Independent contrary findings
12. Transferability to Germany and Europe
High.
13. Overall methodological judgement
Legal reference.
| Multidimensional assessment | |
|---|---|
| Authenticity of the source | verified |
| Methodological quality | high |
| Risk of bias | not assessable |
| Precision of results | not applicable |
| Directness | direct |
| Reproducibility | not replicated |
| Consistency with the overall evidence | unknown |
| Regional transferability | high |
| Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive) | not applicable |
14. Open questions
Amendments after 2010 (e.g. poultry entries).
15. Linked fact checks
- The sea-lice drug emamectin benzoate was found in 97% of sediment samples around Scottish salmon farms and harmed seabed crustaceans, and sea lice in the Pacific have evolved resistance to it. – Studies with mixed or unclear results
- Poultry farms inject chicks with gentamicin; consumers then ingest gentamicin with chicken liver, gizzards and meat, which damages kidneys and hearing. – Studies with mixed or unclear results
- Meat today is 'injected' with something that directly damages the nerves (neuropathy); even bone-broth fat carries it; liver concentrates more toxins than meat, and milk even more. – Studies with mixed or unclear results