Federal surveillance of veterinary drugs and chemical residues (with recent data).

The National Residue Program is a dynamic risk-based program involving many Federal agencies, with the objective of preventing illegal drug residues and chemicals in the food supply. Surveillance is the systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of residue data for public health action. This consists of assessing the cause(s) of the problem, recommending educational incentives, and intervention of prevention and control measures. The role of residue databases in formulating policy decisions and identifying risk factors for drug residues is discussed. A descriptive analysis, of 5 years (1992-1996) field investigative reports of drug residue occurrence in food animals is presented. The results showed that violative residues occurred predominately in culled dairy cows and bob veal calves.