The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2006 require proof of purchase and records of administration to be kept for all food-producing animals – this includes honey bees. The purpose of record keeping is to provide traceability of specific batches of products. This is intended to:
- provide a basis for effective recall of a batch or batches should this become necessary; and
- provide traceability of the use of medicines in food-producing animals.
All records must be in writing, durable, permanent and made available upon request to a person duly authorised by any person or body having a duty of enforcement. The record may be kept electronically. The Regulations set out the following record keeping requirements.
The owner or keeper of food-producing animals is responsible for keeping proof of purchase of all veterinary medicinal products acquired for those animals. You must also record the following information at the time of purchase:
- name of the product; and the batch number
- date of each purchase of a veterinary medicinal product
- quantity purchased
- withdrawal period
- name and address of the supplier
At the time of administration you must also record the following information:
- name of the product
- date of administration
- quantity administered
- the withdrawal period
- identification of the animals treated
If the product is disposed of, other than by treating an animal, you must also record:
- the date of disposal
- the quantity of the product involved
- how and where it was disposed
All records and proof of purchase must be kept for at least five years following the administration or disposal of the product, even if the animals covered have been slaughtered or have died during that period.
Take note that it is an offence to fail to comply with these regulations.
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) encourages the voluntary keeping of records for the purchase and administration of other products outside the scope of these regulations.
More information can be found on Beebase – Veterinary Medicines for Bees