Medicated feed is a mixture of animal food and veterinary medicine produced under controlled conditions, and requires a veterinary prescription following a clinical examination. 

Regulation (EU) 2019/4 establishes comprehensive standards for the manufacture, marketing, and use of medicated feed, aiming to enhance public health protection, ensure high-quality production, and increase the availability of medicated feed, including for pets. By promoting prudent use of antimicrobials, it seeks to combat antimicrobial resistance and prevent the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria through the food chain. 

The regulation covers all stages from production to distribution, ensuring hygiene and access control in facilities, setting training and separation requirements for manufacturing and quality control personnel, and laying out stringent rules for storage, transport, and record-keeping to guarantee traceability. It mandates that medicated feed can only be used with a veterinary prescription following a clinical examination, and special rules apply for feeds containing specific medicinal products. 

The regulation enforces a ban on the use of antimicrobials in medicated feed for prophylaxis and growth promotion and limits the duration of veterinary prescriptions with antimicrobials while setting harmonised residue limits. It also includes a legal framework for the production and distribution of medicated pet food, enabling decentralised production and specific distribution routes, and requiring veterinary prescriptions. Additionally, it mandates tamper-proof packaging and restricts advertising to veterinarians. 

This regulation is part of a broader legislative package that includes measures on veterinary medicinal products (Regulation (EU) 2019/6).

Related regulations:

• Regulation (EU) 2019/4 on the manufacture, placing on the market and use of medicated feed

Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products