Glossary of terms
Monday 7 July 2008
This glossary explains some of the terms used in relation to veterinary medicines.
Acute Reference Dose (ARfD) – the estimated amount of a substance that can be taken in at one meal or on one day without appreciable health risk to the person consuming it, based on current scientific evidence. The calculation of the ARfD is similar to that of the Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI), except that the level used in the calculation is for short-term exposure and discounts effects that only occur following long-term exposure.
Action level – the concentration of a residue in an animal product that will spark a follow-up investigation and risk management action (see also MRLs and MRPLs).
Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) – the estimated amount of a substance that people can consume every day of their lives without presenting an appreciable risk to their health, based on current scientific evidence and scientific studies.
ADAS – Agricultural Development and Advisory Service.
Antimicrobials, including antibiotics – substances that, at low concentrations, kill micro-organisms. Antimicrobials are used on farms to treat and prevent diseases in livestock that are caused by micro-organisms, in the same way that doctors use them to treat people.
Baseline – a starting point against which changes can be measured.
Biocides – active substances and preparations intended to destroy, deter or control harmful organisms by chemical or biological means. These include disinfectants, chemicals used to preserve products and materials, and non-agricultural pesticides.
Biological monitoring – the analysis of the amounts of potentially toxic substances, and/or chemicals produced from them, that are present in body tissues and fluids. Monitoring assesses levels of exposure, assists timing of preventative action, and assesses the biological status of organisms that are at risk.
BIP, Border Inspection Post – BIPs are the ports of entry for foodstuffs imported into the UK. Some consignments are sampled here as part of the surveillance conducted by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).
Brand naming – where a sample of a food taken as part of official surveillance is shown to contain a residue at a concentration above the relevant Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) or action level, the brand on the packet or name of the shop where it was bought is published, usually as part of a discrete survey.
Coccidiostats – products that control coccidiosis, a protozoal disease that can cause diarrhoea and dysentery. Control of this infection is particularly important in the poultry industry. They are usually used as zootechnical (or medicated) feed additives to prevent disease occurring.
Cocktail effect – a term commonly used to describe the possible effect on people of being exposed to a mixture of chemical residues – for example, different pesticides or veterinary medicines.
CODEX, Codex Alimentarius – the Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and World Health Organisation (WHO) to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this programme are protecting consumer health, ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting the coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organisations.
COT – the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment. This is an independent scientific committee that provides advice about the toxicity of chemicals to the Food Standards Agency, the Department of Health and other government agencies.
DEFRA – Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which is the parent department for organisations such as the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science.
DG-SANCO – The Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs, the European Commission body responsible for health and consumer protection.
Exposure – the level of a substance (e.g. a chemical) that a person or animal may be subjected to intentionally or non-intentionally. People can be exposed to substances through food, water and their environment.
Exposure assessment – the process of determining or estimating the magnitude, frequency or duration of exposure to a substance like a chemical. This may involve taking measurements from many sources to produce an aggregate (combined) assessment.
FVO Food and Veterinary Office – part of DG SANCO and the EU Commission. Among other things, the FVO has responsibility for inspecting EU and non-EU countries on behalf of the Commission to assess their ability to meet the required production standards in relation to food safety and animal health, so that they can export to the EU.
Growth regulators – manmade or natural compounds that encourage and control growth responses in plants or animals.
Hormones – hormones include both naturally-occurring and synthetic substances. The use of all hormones to increase growth rate in food producing animals is banned in the EU. Natural hormones are produced by endocrine glands such as the ovaries, testes, thyroid, adrenal or pituitary, and are released into the blood stream to affect some change or function in animals and humans. Plants and fungi can also produce substances that are like some animal/human hormones.
Insecticides – pesticides that kill or control certain types of insect.
LA, local authority – the local government bodies in the UK that have responsibility for conducting some surveillance in relation to food safety issues and prosecuting companies or individuals who break the law within their designated area.
Matrix – the sample of liver, kidney or animal feed, for example, that is analysed for the presence of a residue.
Maximum residue limit (MRL) – the MRL is the maximum amount of each veterinary medicine that is safely and legally permitted in particular animal products.
Metabolite – substances entering animals or humans are usually converted into other chemicals, which are known as metabolites.
Minimum Required Performance Limit (MRPL) – these are limits that have been set for some banned substances. They are set very low and they are not safety limits like maximum residue limits (MRLs), but levels that all EU member states must be able to achieve in their testing to ensure a unified approach to enforcement.
NDNS, National Diet & Nutrition Survey – an FSA programme to assess the consumption of the range of foods available by different sections of the UK population.
No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) – the highest level of exposure to a chemical that caused no adverse effects in animals during appropriate safety tests.
Organic food – food produced using methods that avoid the use of manmade fertilisers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives. There are rules about when foods can be called ‘organic’.
Pesticide – a chemical or biological substance that is used to kill or control pests.
PRC – the Pesticide Residues Committee is an independent committee that advises ministers, the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) and the Food Standards Agency on surveillance programmes for pesticide residues in food and drink.
PSD – the Pesticides Safety Directorate is an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).
Prophylactic – a treatment used to prevent or ameliorate a potential future disease.
RASFF, Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed – an EU–wide warning system for all food and animal feed hazards detected by EU member states. The alert system is co-ordinated by the EU Commission.
Residues – the small amounts of veterinary medicines that can remain in animals after slaughter or in milk/eggs and make their way into the food chain.
Risk assessment – the process of identifying and measuring the risk resulting from a specific use or occurrence of a chemical. Risk assessment takes into account the possible harmful effects on people of using the chemical in the way that is proposed, including all the possible routes of exposure.
Surveillance of veterinary medicine residues – a programme carried out to check that veterinary medicines are being used correctly and to monitor the food supply for the presence of veterinary medicine residues.
Therapeutic – a treatment used to cure or ameliorate a disease.
Third countries – countries that are not part of the European Union.
Toxicology – the study of the toxic effects of substances.
Veterinary medicine – medicine used to treat disease and injuries in animals.
Veterinary Medicinal Product (VMP) – this is a technical term that refers to veterinary medicines and some feed additives (e.g. coccidiostats) which are defined as zootechnical feed additives or medicated feed additives.
Vaccine – a preparation that is used to improve immunity to a particular disease.
VMD – the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
VPC – the Veterinary Products Committee, an independent committee that offers advice to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) in respect of new and renewing Marketing Authorisations (MAs), provisional MAs, variations to MAs and Animal Test Certificates (ATCs).
VRC – the Veterinary Residues Committee, an independent committee that advises ministers, the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and the Food Standards Agency on surveillance programmes for veterinary medicine residues in food and drink.
WiGRAMP – a Working Group for the Risk Assessment of Mixtures of Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines, established by the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT).