What is Medicated feed?
Medicated feed is a mixture of animal food (feed) and veterinary medicinal product produced under controlled conditions and has the purpose of treating or controlling disease in farmed animals, aquaculture species and pets. It requires a veterinary prescription and is one of the oral routes to administer veterinary medicines to animals. Depending on specific situation, this can be the most effective way to administer veterinary medicines to animals.
Regulation (EU) 2019/4 lays down EU harmonised rules on the manufacture, storage, transport, placing on the market (including import), use and export of medicated feed and intermediate products. These rules also include conditions on labelling, packaging, advertising and insurance of homogeneity. Establishments manufacturing, storing, transporting or placing on the market medicated feed, must be approved by the competent authorities and listed.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1229 supplements Regulation (EU) 2019/4 by establishing specific maximum levels of cross-contamination of antimicrobial active substances in non-target feed and methods of analysis for these substances in feed.
Article 2(2)(c) refers to specific maximum levels of cross-contamination of antimicrobial active substances of in non-target feed for food-producing animals intended for slaughter in the period for slaughter corresponding to the longest withdrawal period for the target animal species. Guidelines on the longest withdrawal period is provided in the included document. They are based on the longest withdrawal period used in Member States for treatment and therefore represent a worst case scenario in this case of cross-contamination of much lower doses.