{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2019-2090/article-4",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2019-2090/article-4.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2019/2090",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2090 of 19 June 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and Council regarding cases of suspected or established non-compliance with Union rules applicable to the use or residues of pharmacologically active substances authorised in veterinary medicinal products or as feed additives or with Union rules applicable to the use or residues of prohibited or unauthorised pharmacologically active substances (Text with EEA relevance)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2019-2090",
  "path": "article/4",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "4",
  "heading": "Investigation",
  "text": "1. Where the maximum residue limits for pharmacologically active substances authorised in veterinary medicinal products or as feed additives, set on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 470/2009 and Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003, or, where the maximum levels for residues of pharmacologically active substances resulting from the unavoidable carry-over of these substances in non-target feed, set on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 315/93, have been exceeded, thereby establishing non-compliance, the competent authority, shall:\n(a) carry out any necessary measure or investigation, which it deems appropriate in relation to the finding in question. This may include any investigation in the farm of origin or departure of the animals, including controls on animals or batches of animals on their farms of origin or place of departure, to determine the extent and origin of non-compliance and to establish the extent of the operator’s responsibilities;\n(b) request the animal keeper or the responsible veterinarian to provide the prescription and treatment records and any documentation, justifying the nature of the treatment.\n2. Where residues are identified at concentrations below the maximum residue limits for pharmacologically active substances authorised in veterinary medicinal products or as feed additives, but where the presence of those residues is inconsistent with the food chain information, thereby creating a suspicion of non-compliance or illegal treatment, the competent authority shall carry out any measure of investigation which it deems appropriate for investigating the source of these residues or the deficiencies in the food chain information.\n3. Where residues are suspected at levels exceeding the maximum residue limits or maximum levels for pharmacologically active substances authorised in veterinary medicinal products or as feed additives, set under ... legislation, the competent authority shall carry out any measure of investigation which it deems appropriate.\n4. Where illegal treatment is suspected or established, or where substances falling under the scope of Directive 96/22/EC are discovered in the possession of non-authorised persons or operators, or where prohibited or unauthorised substances or products are discovered in the possession of non-authorised persons or operators, the competent authority shall:\n(a) immediately place the livestock and products concerned by the investigation under official detention.\n(b) during official detention the competent authority shall:\norder that the animals concerned by the investigation are not moved without prior authorisation by the competent authority and this for the duration of the investigation;\norder that carcases, meat, offal, by-products, milk, eggs and honey from those animals do not leave the farm or establishment of origin and are not handed over to any other person without prior authorisation of the competent authority;\norder that, where relevant, feed, water or any other products concerned, are kept separate and are not moved from the farm or establishment of origin;\nensure that the animals concerned by the investigation bear an official mark or other means of identification, or, in the case of poultry, fishes and bees, that they are kept in a marked space or hive;\ntake appropriate precautionary measures in accordance with the nature of the substance or substances identified;\n(c) request the animal keeper and the responsible veterinarian to provide any documentation justifying the nature of the treatment;\n(d) carry out any other official controls on animals or batches of animals at the farm of origin or place of departure of the animals, necessary to ascertain such use;\n(e) carry out any other official controls necessary to ascertain the acquisition and presence of unauthorised or prohibited substances;\n(f) carry out any other official controls deemed necessary to clarify the origin of the prohibited or unauthorised substances or products or of the treated animals.\n5. The official controls referred to in this Article may also include controls on manufacturers, distributors, transporters, production sites of pharmacologically active substances and veterinary medicinal products, pharmacies, all relevant actors in the supply-chain and any other site concerned by the investigation.\n6. The official controls referred to in this Article may also include official sampling, including of water, feed, meat, offal, blood, animal by-products, hair, urine, faeces and other animal matrices. The competent authority shall take any number of samples it considers necessary for investigating the suspected or established non-compliance or illegal treatment. In case of aquaculture animals, samples from the waters in which they are grown or caught and in the case of honey bees, samples of the hives may be required.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Word in Art. 4(3) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Veterinary Medicines and Residues (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1461), regs. 1(2)(b), 8(5)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2019/2090/article/4",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:42:57.233170+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}