Pharmacological treatments and risks for the food chain

Veterinarians play a pivotal role in public health control, in particular in the management of risks deriving from pharmacological treatments of food-producing animals. Veterinary medicinal products can represent a risk for animal health and welfare (side effects, decreased efficacy), for farmers and practitioners administering the drug, for consumers of food of animal origin (presence of residues, occurrence of antibiotic resistance) and for the environment. According to pending European guidelines, risk management starts from marketing authorisation that must be based on risk evaluation and can be denied when the risk/benefit ratio is not favourable considering the advantages for animal health and welfare and for safety of consumers. Veterinarians can prevent and control risks by using correct pharmacological criteria to choose and administer medicinal products and undertaking risk-based inspection of residues of drugs in food of animal origin. Moreover, a major tool for veterinarians to prevent and control drug-borne risk is "pharmacovigilance". Risks for the environment are usually assessed during the pre-marketing approval process, however veterinarians, as risk managers, should educate farmers about correct drug handling and disposal, and periodically verify that suggested measures are applied.