Report issued on nicarbazin residues in chicken

A report has been published by the Agency into the possible causes of nicarbazin residues in chicken. Nicarbazin is a medicated feed additive used to treat a debilitating poultry disease called coccidiosis.

The report follows a joint Government and industry initiative facilitated by the Food Standards Agency.

This initiative, which investigated feed practices on farms in order to find possible causes of nicarbazin residues, was launched in response to people wanting veterinary medicine residues in food to be be kept to a minimum. These residues are not a significant food safety risk for consumers but are avoidable with good farm practice.

For 12 months, from February 2007 to January 2008, farms sampled under the National Surveillance Scheme (NSS) for veterinary medicines were sent a questionnaire, by an independent project co-ordinator, seeking information about their feed management practices. The NSS checks for residues of nicarbazin in UK poultry, as required by EU law. This is undertaken by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, an agency of DEFRA, details of which can be found at the link below.

The study identified several possible factors as likely causes of detectable nicarbazin residues in chicken. These all relate to the management of feed storage and distribution systems on farm. For example, they include the feed available to birds in the period just before slaughter, the age of feed storage bins, bin emptying and different in-house feeding systems.

Key recommendations include:

* maintaining current best practice advice
* maintaining and updating training on the use of nicarbazin on farms
* ensuring farmers are aware of the precise amounts of nicarbazin feed required
* ensuring that both single and double bins are emptied of any remaining nicarbazin containing feed before the five days withdrawal period before processing

It is hoped that the recommendations from this project will be taken into account in best practice for nicarbazin use and general feed management on farms so that the incidence and levels found are reduced further.

The science behind the storyNicarbazin is a coccidiostat used to treat a protozoan disease, coccidiosis, that can be debilitating or even fatal to poultry. It is used as a feed additive to control the disease at a critical period of the birds’ lives but should not be used within five days of the birds’ slaughter. This ensures no appreciable residues of it remain in chicken for human consumption. It is combined in equal amounts with another coccidiostat, narasin, in the only UK-licensed product that contains nicarbazin, Maxiban.

Residues can be found in poultry meat but are more common in poultry liver. Neither is a significant food safety risk at the levels found, but can be avoided with good farm practice.

A UK action level for residues has been set at 200 μg/kg based on international Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) considerations. Residues over 1000 μg/kg are investigated on-farm by Animal Health, as this amount suggests a possible failing in feed management. This recent investigation considered all detectable residues, including those below 200 μg/kg, which greatly increased the amount of data available to assess risk factors.

Reducing nicarbazin residue levels in British chicken

The FSA is facilitating a joint initiative, involving the British Poultry Council, the National Farmers' Union and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), to identify ways in which the poultry industry can reduce the incidence and levels of nicarbazin residues in British chicken and to raise awareness of the issue among farmers.

Nicarbazin is a specified feed additive used for the treatment of coccidiosis, a potentially fatal and debilitating disease of chickens.

The initiative covers poultry farmers in Great Britain whose chickens are sampled under the National Surveillance Scheme (NSS) for veterinary residues, carried out by the VMD. As part of the NSS, samples of chicken (livers and muscle) are taken at slaughterhouses and tested for a range of veterinary residues.

Since 1998, the incidence of nicarbazin residues in chicken detected by NSS sampling has fallen from a level of 25.5% to 9.7% in 2006 (in the majority of cases the residues are found only in the liver samples). Although this reduction is welcome, and current residue levels are not a significant risk to consumers, the FSA believes that further work is needed to tackle the incidence and levels of such residues, which are largely due to poor feed management practices on farms.

The FSA recognises that consumers expect all veterinary medicine residue levels to be kept to a minimum. Industry also accepts that consumers require assurances that the poultry meat they eat contains the lowest possible residues of feed additives.

From 1 February 2007 farmers sampled under the NSS will be sent an information form to fill in. The form seeks information about the feed management on farms and in particular what was happening when the last crop of birds were being raised.

It is hoped that the information provided will enable best practice for nicarbazin use and general feed management on farms to be identified, which can then be shared across the whole UK poultry industry. If best practice is adopted widely it is hoped that the incidence and level of nicarbazin residues being found in British chicken samples should fall.

The information collection stage of this initiative is due to run until December 2007, and reviews of its progress are planned at three monthly intervals. It is intended that a similar initiative will take place in Northern Ireland during the course of 2007. Discussions will take place shortly with Northern Ireland stakeholders.

A number of other organisations are involved in this initiative, either directly or at the Project Group level, including the State Veterinary Service, Animal Medicines Inspectorate, Meat Hygiene Service, Agri-Food and Bioscience Institute of Northern Ireland, Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) and Elanco Animal Health.

Nicarbazin is currently only available in the form of the feed additive "Maxiban". This initiative is being run in parallel with work carried out by Elanco Animal Health, the producers of Maxiban, which carries out training sessions on nicarbazin use.

If you have any further enquiries about this initiative, please contact the FSA.