A press release from the agency said that the inspections were carried out at two feed warehouses, one poultry slaughterhouse, two egg production farms, two hatchery farms and ten meat production farms. As part of these inspections, veterinarians ordered the collection of serum, egg and feed samples, which were subjected to analysis by national and European reference laboratories.
At all inspected enterprises, it was ordered to suspend the movement of birds and eggs obtained from them, as well as to initiate measures to withdraw consumer eggs from the market. Restrictive measures will be continued if necessary.
Based on the results of laboratory tests and inspections, it was concluded that the source of the metronidazole residues found in eggs and serum was animal feed to which producers had added metronidazole. ANSA therefore suspended imports of the compound feed, requesting information and clarification from the responsible veterinary authority of the exporting country.
In response to this case, ANSA urges livestock owners to use veterinary medicines strictly as prescribed by a veterinarian and to ensure that animal feed used on their own farms does not contain prohibited substances, and encourages them to implement internal self-monitoring programs to ensure the supply of safe products to consumers.
Metronidazole is a powerful chemotherapeutic drug with bacteriostatic and antiparasitic effects. Due to the risks it poses, its use is prohibited for animals from which food products intended for human consumption are obtained since 1997 in the European Union and since 2011 in the Republic of Moldova.
