‘A residue of a substance having a pharmacological action and of conversion products thereof and other substances transmitted to meat and which are likely to be dangerous to human health’.
- Almost all chemicals administered knowingly or unknowingly to animals result in some trace residue remaining in carcass.
- Traditionally, meat inspection involved a visual ante mortem of the animal and post mortem examination of the carcass and offal.
- Many of the drugs used in modern production however, are rapidly absorbed or are given orally and therefore do not produce lesions that can be observed in post mortem examination.
- Therefore, to reassure consumers, traditional meat inspection procedures need to be complemented by an increasingly wide range of laboratory procedures.
- No chemical is safe under all conditions of use.
- It is there important that all are fully evaluated for safety either as the parent compound or as metabolites.
- Toxicological studies involve both acute toxic effect and chronic effect of the chemicals.
- Increasingly, studies of fertility and fetal development and effect on the immune system have been added to these assessment of safety.
For more details please download the attachment- PPT.