TY - JOUR
T1 - Veterinary drug residues in seafood inspected by the European Union, United States, Canada, and Japan from 2000 to 2009
AU - Love, David C.
AU - Rodman, Sarah
AU - Neff, Roni A.
AU - Nachman, Keeve E.
PY - 2011/9/1
Y1 - 2011/9/1
N2 - Veterinary drugs are used to treat or prevent a wide array of production-related diseases in aquaculture. Residues of these drugs in seafood products may pose risks to consumers, prompting governments to set drug residue tolerance levels and inspect seafood for violations of these standards. This study characterizes veterinary drug inspection policies and violations among four inspecting bodies (European Union (E.U.), United States (U.S.), Canada, and Japan), using government-collected veterinary drug violation data from 2000 to 2009. Most veterinary drug violations were detected in species that are commonly farm-raised. Asian seafood products, including shrimp and prawns, catfish (or fish sold as catfish), crab, tilapia, eel, and Chilean salmon were most frequently in violation of veterinary drug residue standards. Vietnam had the greatest number of violations among exporting countries. Concentrations of most veterinary drugs in seafood found in violation did not differ between inspecting bodies that reported drug concentrations. Transparency in seafood inspection reporting varied widely among inspecting bodies. Estimation of violations in the untested fraction of seafood was precluded by a lack of information from inspecting bodies regarding the distinction between targeted and random sampling. Increased transparency could facilitate a more rigorous characterization of public health risks from consuming imported seafood.
AB - Veterinary drugs are used to treat or prevent a wide array of production-related diseases in aquaculture. Residues of these drugs in seafood products may pose risks to consumers, prompting governments to set drug residue tolerance levels and inspect seafood for violations of these standards. This study characterizes veterinary drug inspection policies and violations among four inspecting bodies (European Union (E.U.), United States (U.S.), Canada, and Japan), using government-collected veterinary drug violation data from 2000 to 2009. Most veterinary drug violations were detected in species that are commonly farm-raised. Asian seafood products, including shrimp and prawns, catfish (or fish sold as catfish), crab, tilapia, eel, and Chilean salmon were most frequently in violation of veterinary drug residue standards. Vietnam had the greatest number of violations among exporting countries. Concentrations of most veterinary drugs in seafood found in violation did not differ between inspecting bodies that reported drug concentrations. Transparency in seafood inspection reporting varied widely among inspecting bodies. Estimation of violations in the untested fraction of seafood was precluded by a lack of information from inspecting bodies regarding the distinction between targeted and random sampling. Increased transparency could facilitate a more rigorous characterization of public health risks from consuming imported seafood.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80052213045&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=80052213045&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/es201608q
DO - 10.1021/es201608q
M3 - Article
C2 - 21797221
AN - SCOPUS:80052213045
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 45
SP - 7232
EP - 7240
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 17
ER -