Bees for Development Journal 139 June 2021
Residue Monitoring Plans explained Giacomo Ciriello, Project Manager, Bees for Development What a Residue Monitoring Plan contains
A Residue Monitoring Plan (RMP) is a risk assessment undertaken to assure that honey imported into the European Union (EU) will not contain chemical residues. Residues may come from veterinary products used in bee hives, from pesticides and other pollutants bees encounter in the environment, or somehow contaminating honey during its processing and packing. Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pharmacological substances are listed in Regulation (EU) No 37/2010, while those for pesticides are set in the framework of Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. A RMP is required for all animal products imported into the EU, and without it honey cannot legally be imported by any EU nation. Honey is the only bee product for which a RMP is necessary.
• Details of the non-EU nation’s competent authority • Information about the legislative framework covering the use of veterinary medicines in the non-EU nation • List of approved laboratories for residue testing and their accreditation status - these labs do not have to be in the exporting nation • Details of actions to be taken in the event of a noncompliant result Samples must be tested for residues in the following five sub-groups: B1 Antibacterial substances, including sulphonamides and quinolones B2c Carbamates and pyrethroids B3a Organochlorine compounds including Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) B3b Organophosphorus compounds B3c Chemical elements
To comply, non-EU countries must submit a RMP to the Director General, Health and Food Safety of the European Commission. The plan must state the government department responsible for monitoring residues in honey, the description of the exporting country’s legislative framework covering the rules on the use of veterinary medicines, the sampling procedures and the laboratories approved to undertake residue analysis, as well as measures for noncompliance.
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Samples may be exempt from testing for a particular class of substances where producers can prove these are not being used. For example, the Zambian RMP does not test for B2c substances because exporters
Honey of COOPSOL in Argentina, ready for export. With the RMP in place, this honey can be imported by any EU nation 9
