Korea Reviews Animal Drug Residue Levels

SOUTH KOREA - The Korean Food & Drug Administration (KFDA), which sets maximum residue limits (MRL) for veterinary drugs (as well as pesticides) in livestock products including meat, dairy products, fish and honey, will soon begin reviewing existing veterinary drug MRLs and hopes to finish this process by the end of 2014.

5 December 2011

2 minute read

By: Chris Harris

Products with residue levels above the established tolerance are not eligible for entry into commerce, according to a report from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service.

The Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’s Quarantine Inspection Agency enforces these limits in both domestic and imported livestock products.

Veterinary drug MRLs are contained in Appendix 7 of KFDA’s Food Code. A list of the most up-todate residue limits is included at the end of this report as a reference for US exporters shipping livestock products to Korea.

For those compounds not listed in the Code, KFDA follows a default policy as shown below. In addition, there are a dozen veterinary drug compounds, which are not to be found at any level in food products.

KFDA is in the process of reviewing the country’s existing MRLs for veterinary drugs (and pesticides).

They are planning to finish this review by the end of 2014. However, the USDA FAS said that this target date seems ambitious given the short time to review the large number of pertinent chemicals.