Veterinary drug residues in the EU in 2024: 493,664 samples, 0.13% non-compliant — EFSA report on national control plans
On 10 February 2026 the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its annual report on residues of veterinary medicinal products in live animals and animal products for 2024. The share of non-compliant samples was 0.13% (629 of 493,664), compared with 0.11% a year earlier.
- The data come from EU Member States plus Iceland and Norway and cover meat (farmed and game), dairy products, eggs and honey. Authorised and banned substances were tested: hormones (including steroids), beta-agonists, antibacterials, anti-parasitic drugs and insect repellents.
- According to the report, 266,477 samples were reported under the national risk-based control plan for production (0.16% non-compliant), 10,165 under the national randomised surveillance plan (0.22%) and 6,061 under the plan for third-country imports (0.2%). In addition, 9,013 suspect samples were taken following non-compliant results and 201,948 under other national programmes.
- The report also checks whether countries met the sampling frequency requirements of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1646 — according to the abstract, most did. Results are available in EFSA’s interactive dashboard, and the full dataset is to be published in the EFSA Knowledge Junction repository.
- EFSA notes that, according to the 2025 Eurobarometer, residues of antibiotics, steroids or hormones in meat are among the top food safety concerns of over a third (36%) of EU citizens — 3 percentage points fewer than in the 2022 survey.
Source: EFSA — Veterinary drug residues in food: what’s the latest in the EU? (10.02.2026)