37. Calls on the Commission to include No Action Levels (NALs) or Reference Points for Action (RPAs) or Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) in honey and other apicultural products for substances that cannot be authorised for the European beekeeping sector, as well as to harmonise veterinary border controls and controls on the internal market since, in the case of honey, low-quality imports, adulteration and substitutes distort the market and exert constant pressure on prices and the final quality of the product on the EU's internal market, and there must be a level playing field for products/producers from the EU and from third countries; notes that the MRLs must take into account residues ...[+++] from good veterinary practice;

37. Calls on the Commission to include No Action Levels (NALs) or Reference Points for Action (RPAs) or Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) in honey and other apicultural products for substances that cannot be authorised for the European beekeeping sector, as well as to harmonise veterinary border controls and controls on the internal market since, in the case of honey, low-quality imports, adulteration and substitutes distort the market and exert constant pressure on prices and the final quality of the product on the EU's internal market, and there must be a level playing field for products/producers from the EU and from third countries; notes that the MRLs must take into account residues ...[+++] from good veterinary practice;

37. Calls on the Commission to include No Action Levels (NALs) or Reference Points for Action (RPAs) or Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) in honey and other apicultural products for substances that cannot be authorised for the European beekeeping sector, as well as to harmonise veterinary border controls and controls on the internal market since, in the case of honey, low-quality imports, adulteration and substitutes distort the market and exert constant pressure on prices and the final quality of the product on the EU’s internal market, and there must be a level playing field for products/producers from the EU and from third countries; notes that the MRLs must take into account residues ...[+++] from good veterinary practice;

(8) Maximum residue limits are the points of reference for the establishment, in accordance with Directive 2001/82/EC, of withdrawal periods in marketing authorisations for veterinary medicinal products to be used in food-producing animals as well as for the control of residues in food of animal origin in the Member States and at border inspection posts.

By accepting the concept of a default 'zero tolerance' MRL, we have found a solution for residues of the 400 substances we took off the market in 2003 for which the remaining residues should have moved out of the food chain by 2005.

3. At the request of the competent authority of a Member State or the Agency, the holder of the marketing authorisation shall provide technical expertise to facilitate the implementation of the analytical method for detecting residues of veterinary medicinal products by the Community reference laboratory or, where appropriate, national reference laboratories designated in accordance with Council Directive 96/23/EC of 29 April 1996 on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products(18).