Consultation launches on National Residues Control Programme
The NRCP identifies residue of veterinary medicines and other contaminants in products of animal origin.
A public consultation has been launched by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) to discuss changes to the charges made for the National Residues Control Programme (NRCP).
The VMD has proposed an increase in the statutory charges, paid by food business operators, to support the increased cost of procuring contractors.
The NRCP is designed to identify any residue of veterinary medicines, banned substances, and other contaminants in products of animal origin that will enter the food chain.
This involves examining random samples from products of animal origin, including eggs, milk, meat and farmed fish. The VMD reports that over 30,000 samples are taken in Great Britain each year.
As well as protecting human health, the programme also provides assurances to the UK’s trading partners that any exported products are safe and of good quality. This supports international trade worth billions each year to the UK economy.
The current costs for delivering the NRCP are £5 million per year, which is invoiced from food business operators. These charges have not increased since 2011.
However the VMD has now forecast that NRCP costs will rise to £6.1 million by 2026, due to the rising costs of procuring the contractors to carry out sampling and testing.
The increase in statutory charges is proposed for the next two financial years. The VMD says that this will ensure full cost recovery for the scheme.
The consultation has been launched jointly between the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments, and will run for 10 weeks. It can be accessed through Citizen Space or the VMD’s engagement website.
Abi Seager, VMD chief executive officer, said: “The National Residues Control Programme is fundamental to providing assurance to the UK’s trading partners about the quality and safety of exported products of animal origin.
“The proposals outlined will ensure that we can continue to run this important programme which helps to support international trade worth billions of pounds a year to the UK economy.”
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Veterinary practices are being urged to help owners safely dispose of any unused and expired pet medicines - not just antibiotics - during November's Animal Medicines Amnesty. 
