Maturity Regulation (EU) No 37/2010 · Veterinary Medicinal Residue Compliance
Control of veterinary residues, measured against Regulation 37/2010 and turned into a costed action plan.
10 themes, a 5-level scale. And the action that moves each level to the next.
The framework’s 10 themes, already written from L1 to L5. One company, one business unit, or 300 at once.
Maturity Regulation (EU) No 37/2010 · Veterinary Medicinal Residue Compliance
10 themes, 5-level scale.
Nordhavn Industries
53 / 100
They measure their maturity with Datamensio
An example
This could be your situation.
Take one company as an example: three sites, three spreadsheets, no shared answer.
Nobody can consolidate.
Nordhavn Industries, 2,400 people in Hamburg, Lyon and Porto. A client asks where the group stands. Each site answers in its own spreadsheet, with its own scales.
Three weeks, a single base.
One Commission Regulation (EU) No 37/2010 of 22 December 2009 assessment launched across all three sites at once, from the managers’ interview notes. The framework was already written, its 10 themes and levels L1 to L5 too.
Two costs avoided before being committed.
A score of 53 out of 100, with the gap concentrated on three themes. The AI companion spotted that two actions duplicated those of another audit. The committee report took one sentence to request.
What it saved them
- 3sites measured on the same base, instead of three questionnaires to reconcile
- 2duplicate actions caught before the spend
- 1committee report, with no manual rework
These figures are an example. They could be yours.
The standard imposes processes. Datamensio says where you stand.
01
The framework is already written
Themes, questions and levels L1 to L5, all written. You do not start from an empty spreadsheet.
02
The score lands the same day
Online, by self-assessment link or in interview. Theme by theme, comparable over time.
03
The gap becomes a costed plan
Every step up carries its action. The AI prioritises on expected effect, not on the order of the standard.
04
Progress can be demonstrated
Campaign after campaign, against your target and against your own past. That is what your board asks for.
The maturity scale
One level, the next, and the action that links the two.
This mechanism, one level, the level above, and the action linking the two, is what turns a finding into a trajectory.
Is compliance with withdrawal periods checked before animals or foodstuffs are placed on the market?
- N1
No organised check. Compliance with the withdrawal period relies solely on the farmer’s declaration at collection.
- N2
Instructions exist and the treatment register is requested, but the check is not systematic and depends on who is present.
- N3
The check is documented and carried out before every collection, with identification of the animals or batches concerned and a written record of the check.
- N4
The check is built into the information system: an animal or tank under withdrawal is automatically blocked, and lifting the block is logged and validated.
- N5
The system is periodically reassessed against analytical results and observed gaps, blocking rules are adjusted and revisions are documented.
Action to move from L2 to L3
Add a treatment register verification box to the collection order, make it a blocking step for the driver or collector, and check it is filled in during the monthly upstream quality review.
« With Datamensio, we meet our objectives far more efficiently. The ERDF inspection services and our supervising ministry particularly appreciated an approach that gives them reliable data. »
Director, CCI 94CCI Île-de-France
« We believe this is the most suitable solution to scale our transformation project and measure impact according to our needs. »
Maja SucekChief Operating Officer, Interreg Danube
Rarely on its own
Frameworks combine. Put several together to cover your business, or have the AI write yours.
Take your first measurement
What this framework covers
Regulation (EU) No 37/2010 sets out the classification of pharmacologically active substances used in food-producing animals. Its annex splits into two tables: Table 1 lists authorised substances with their maximum residue limit, the species and tissues concerned, while Table 2 lists prohibited substances. It ties in with Regulation (EC) No 470/2009, which sets the procedure for establishing MRLs, and with the withdrawal period rules set when a veterinary medicinal product is authorised for market. Compliance with these values determines whether meat, milk, eggs and honey can be placed on the market.
In practice, the difficulty lies not in reading the table but in the information chain running from the farm to dispatch. Are treatment registers at supplying farms actually accessible, or merely declared compliant by contract? Are withdrawal periods checked before animals or milk are collected, and by whom? Does the self-monitoring plan cover the substance families relevant to the species and sourcing areas, or does it roll over the same sampling year after year? Across multi-site supply chains, the answers vary from one business unit to another.
Two mix-ups come up regularly. The first is conflating veterinary medicinal MRLs with pesticide MRLs under Regulation (EC) No 396/2005: the legal bases, the substances and the sampling logic all differ. The second is treating Regulation 37/2010 in isolation, when it forms a set together with Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products, Regulation (EU) 2019/4 on medicated feed, and the national residue monitoring plans organised under Regulation (EU) 2017/625. The prohibited substances in Table 2 are also subject to a zero-tolerance regime, with reference points for action.
A compliance audit asks a binary question: does the analytical result exceed the limit, is the register present, yes or no. A maturity assessment asks a different question: what level of control does the system actually reach, and what precise action moves it forward. One site may have no exceedance at all and yet rely entirely on one person’s vigilance. Another may have had an alert and still run a documented, traceable, regularly reviewed system. The score per theme makes that difference visible, and the gap to target generates the action plan.
Within Datamensio, the framework is ready to use and remains fully editable. The AI adjusts themes, questions and level wording using the CMMI method, to fit a dairy, meat, aquaculture or beekeeping supply chain. It can also build a bespoke version from your own documents: supplier specifications, monitoring plan, farm approval procedures.
Reference standard: Commission Regulation (EU) No 37/2010 of 22 December 2009
The themes assessed
Governance and residue control framework
Formalised policy, roles of the veterinarian, quality and upstream teams, link with the HACCP system, analytical resources allocated.
Knowledge of applicable substances and limits
Monitoring of Table 1 authorised substances and Table 2 prohibited substances, correspondence between species, tissues and foodstuffs, reference points for action.
Control of on-farm treatments
Veterinary prescription, treatment register, off-label use and the cascade, medicated feed, administration conditions.
Compliance with withdrawal periods
Determination of the applicable withdrawal period, identification of animals and batches under treatment, blocking of milk or eggs, checks before collection.
Supplier requirements and farm approval
Upstream specifications, contractual clauses on residues, farm audits, conditions for suspending and reinstating a supplier.
Self-monitoring plan and sampling
Plan design, substance families covered, frequencies, representativeness, choice and accreditation of laboratories, analytical methods.
Managing non-compliant results
Trigger thresholds, batch holding and withdrawal, upstream investigation, notification of the competent authority, link with RASFF.
Traceability and documentation
Link between animal, batch and foodstuff, record retention, accessibility during official checks, consistency between farm and site documents.
Competence and awareness
Training of farmers, collectors and operators, information on prohibited substances, updating of instructions.
Monitoring, review and improvement
Analytical result indicators, trend analysis, annual review of the plan, lessons learnt from non-compliances and inspections.
A short version of the framework is available for the online self-assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Can Regulation (EU) No 37/2010 be certified?
No. It is a directly applicable regulation, checked by competent authorities under Regulation (EU) 2017/625. The assessment measures the maturity of your control system and prepares you for inspection, it does not grant any approval.
What is the difference between this assessment and a compliance audit?
An audit records a gap or a compliance status at a given point in time. The assessment places each practice on a five-level maturity scale and points to the action that moves it up a level. The two are complementary: the assessment prepares, the audit validates.
How long does the assessment take?
The short version can be completed in 20 to 30 minutes by a quality manager. The full version, run collaboratively with upstream teams, the laboratory and the veterinarian, typically spans one to two weeks, most of the time going into data collection.
Can the framework be adapted to our supply chain?
Yes. Themes, questions and levels can all be modified. The AI produces a dairy, meat, aquaculture, egg or honey variant, or builds a version from your upstream specifications and monitoring plan.
What is the link with pesticide MRLs under Regulation 396/2005?
Both set maximum residue limits, but on distinct substances and legal bases. The control systems overlap on sampling and non-compliance management. A cross-cutting roadmap allows both assessments to be combined without duplicating actions.
How can several sites or subsidiaries be compared?
Each assessment produces a score per theme. The benchmark compares business units against each other and each site against its own past assessments. Action plans are then consolidated into a prioritised group roadmap.
Where is the data hosted?
In France, at OVH, with backup at Scaleway. No transfer outside the European Union. The AI models used can be selected, including from European providers.