The Monographs on the residues of the thirtheen eleven compounds contained in this volume were prepared by the forty-seventh meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which was held in Rome, 4-13 June 1996. JECFA has evaluated veterinary drugs at previous meetings, including the 12th 1, 26th 2, 27th 3, 32nd 4, 34th 5, 36th 6, 38th 7, 40th 8, 42nd 9, 43rd 10, and 45th meetings.
In response to a growing concern about mass-medication of food producing animals and the implications for human health and international trade, a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Residues of Veterinary Drugs was convened in Rome, in November 198412. Among the main recommendations of this consultation were the establishment of a specialized Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods (CCRVDF) and the periodic convening of an appropriate body to provide independent scientific advice to this Committee and to the member countries of FAO and WHO. At its first session in Washington D.C. in November 1986, the newly-created CCRVDF reaffirmed the need for such a scientific body and made a number of recommendations and suggestions to be considered by JECFA 13. In response to these recommendations, the thirty-second JECFA meeting was entirely devoted to the evaluation of residues of veterinary drugs in foods. Subsequently, the 34th, 36th, 38th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, and 47th meetings of JECFA were also dedicated exclusively to evaluation of veterinary drugs.
The ninth session of the CCRVDF, held in Washington D.C. during December 1995, revised the priority list of veterinary drugs requiring evaluation. The drugs evaluated during the 47th meeting of JECFA included these compounds, except ceftiofur sodium, porcine somatotropin and spectinomycin.
The present volume contains summary monographs of the residue data on all of the thirteenth compounds on the agenda. The two b -adrenoceptor blocking agents, clenbuterol and xylazine, had not been evaluated before. The two anthelminthic agents, abamectin and moxidectin had been considered before by the 45th meeting of JECFA.
From the seven antimicrobial agents, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, neomycin and spiramycin had previously been evaluated by the Committee. The remaining antimicrobial agents, thiamphenicol and tilmicosin had not been evaluated before.
The insecticides, cypermethrin and a -cypermethrin, had not been considered before.
The pertinent information in each monograph was discussed and appraised by the entire Committee. The monographs are presented in a uniform format covering identity, residues in food and their evaluation, metabolism studies, tissue residue depletion studies, methods of residue analysis and a final appraisal of the study results. More recent publications and documents are referenced, including those on which the monograph is based. A summary of the JECFA evaluations from the 32nd to the present 47th meeting is included in Annex 1.
The assistance of the experts and FAO consultant in preparing these monographs is gratefully acknowledged.
REFERENCES
1. Specifications for the Identity and Purity of Food Additives and their Toxicological Evaluation: Some antibiotics (Twelfth Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives), FAO Nutrition Meetings Report Series No. 45, 1969; WHO Technical Report Series No. 430, 1969.
2. Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and Contaminants (Twenty-Six Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 683; 1982.
3. Evaluation of Certain Food Additives and Contaminants (Twenty-Seventh Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 696; 1983.
4. Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods. (Thirty-Second Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 763; 1988.
5. Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods. (Thirty-Fourth Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 788; 1989.
6. Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods. (Thirty-Sixth Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 799; 1990.
7. Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods. (Thirty-Eighth Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 815; 1991.
8. Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods (Fortieth Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 832; 1993.
9. Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods (Forty-second Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 851; 1995.
10. Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods (Forty-third Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 855; 1995.
11. Evaluation of Certain Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods (Forty-fifth Report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). WHO Technical Report Series No. 864; 1996.
12. Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods, Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Consultation, Rome, 29 October - 5 November 1984. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper No. 32, 1985.
13. Report of the First Session of the Codex Committee on Residues of Veterinary Drugs in Foods. Washington D.C., 27-31 October 1986.
