1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that, if there is no authorised veterinary medicinal product in a Member State for a condition affecting a food-producing species, by way of exception, the veterinarian responsible may, under his direct personal responsibility and in particular to avoid causing unacceptable suffering, treat the animals concerned on a particular holding with:
(a) a veterinary medicinal product authorised in the Member State concerned under this Directive or under Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 for use with another animal species, or for another condition in the same species; or
(b) if there is no product as referred to in point (a), either:
a medicinal product for human use authorised in the Member State concerned in accordance with Directive 2001/83/EC or under Regulation (EC) No 726/2004, or
a veterinary medicinal product authorised in another Member State in accordance with this Directive for use in the same species or in another food-producing species for the condition in question or for another condition; or
(c) if there is no product as referred to in subparagraph (b), and within the limits of the law of the Member State concerned, a veterinary medicinal product prepared extemporaneously by a person authorised to do so under national legislation in accordance with the terms of a veterinary prescription.
The veterinarian may administer the medicinal product personally or allow another person to do so under the veterinarian's responsibility.
2. Paragraph 1 shall apply provided that pharmacologically active substances included in the medicinal product are listed in Annex I, II or III to Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90, and that the veterinarian specifies an appropriate withdrawal period.
Unless the medicinal product used indicates a withdrawal period for the species concerned, the specified withdrawal period shall not be less than:
7 days for eggs,
7 days for milk,
28 days for meat from poultry and mammals including fat and offal,
500 degree-days for fish meat.
[F2The Commission may modify these withdrawal periods or establish other withdrawal periods. In so doing, the Commission may differentiate between foodstuffs, species, routes of administration and annexes to Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 89(2a).]
3. With regard to homeopathic veterinary medicinal products in which active principles figure in Annex II to Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90, the withdrawal period referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 shall be reduced to zero.
4. When a veterinarian has recourse to the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, he shall keep adequate records of the date of examination of the animals, details of the owner, the number of animals treated, the diagnosis, the medicinal products prescribed, the doses administered, the duration of treatment and the withdrawal periods recommended, and shall make these records available for inspection by the competent authorities for a period of at least five years.
5. Without prejudice to the other provisions of this Directive, Member States shall take all necessary measures concerning the import, distribution, dispensing of and information on the medicinal products which they permit for administration to food-producing animals in accordance with paragraph 1(b)(ii).]
Textual Amendments
F1 Substituted by Directive 2004/28/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 amending Directive 2001/82/EC on the Community code relating to veterinary medicinal products.
F2 Substituted by Regulation (EC) No 470/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 2009 laying down Community procedures for the establishment of residue limits of pharmacologically active substances in foodstuffs of animal origin, repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 and amending Directive 2001/82/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance).