EURL GUIDANCE : EURL Guidance Document on Stability Studies in the Field of the Analysis of Residues of Pharmacologically Active Substances Version 1.1 of January 2026;   Published on 03/02/2026

The 30th Annual Workshop will take place on Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 June 2026 in Fougères. The key topics are already listed here, and further information will be provided in March.

A new Good Practice Factsheet is online about on-farm hatching to improve broiler welfare from the start.   In a commercial hatchery, broiler chicks hatch within a period of 24-48 hours in a hatcher. During this time, usually no water or feed is available. Only once the hatching phase is over, all the chicks are removed from the hatcher, whereafter they go through a range of hatchery procedures before they are transported to the barns for rearing. An alternative to this, is hatching on-farm, i.e., within the barn. This way, the chicks have immediately access to light, water and feed after hatch, while hatchery procedures, transport and unloading are avoided.   Take a look here!   For more information see the broiler chicken good practice welfare webpage.

The 16th annual workshop will be held on Friday 11th September 2026 in Bologna (Italy). This year, the EURL will welcome the representatives of the European and Third-Country NRLs in Bologna, right after the EurBee conference. The annual workshop is the opportunity for the NRL network to exchange, to receive news from the partners and to give information on the activities run during the year. More information to come. Stay tuned!

The sixth EU-network meeting between representatives of Competent Authorities and the EURCAW-Poultry-SFA, with the participation of one DG SANTE unit G5 representative, one EFSA representative and two EFTA representatives as observers, took place physically at Anses headquarters in Maisons-Alfort, France in October 2025, 01-02, during 2*0.5 days. ​   In total 35 participants, from 17 EU Member States (MSs) participated, including 22 delegates from EU MSs. ​   Participants took the opportunity to network during the ice breakers and social activities (visit of the Fragonard Museum followed by a join dinner) and exchange on various subject during the World Café and the “Eat & meet” sessions. Four participants took the opportunity to present/discuss their topics of interest during the plenary session. ​   Report of the event here. Link to the presentations pdf: link.  

We are pleased to share a new Thematic Factsheet focused on the most relevant environmental enrichment for rabbit welfare on farm.   For each category of environmental enrichment including physical, occupational, nutritional, social, and sensory elements, the main critical issues and recommendations are highlighted.   For more information see the rabbits on-farm welfare webpage.

New EU Guidance on Listeria monocytogenes in Ready-to-Eat Foods Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2895, which amends Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 regarding Listeria monocytogenes is set to come into effect on 1 July 2026. To assist food businesses in meeting this new requirements, the European Commission recently published a new GUIDANCE DOCUMENT on Listeria monocytogenes monitoring and shelf-life studies for ready-to-eat foods under Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs.    Purpose and scope This guidance is primarily directed at food business operators (FBOp) who produce ready-to-eat (RTE) foods and conduct related L. monocytogenes shelf-life studies in accordance with Article 3(2) and Annex II of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs. Beyond manufacturers, it can also assist competent authorities conducting official controls on these food business operators and serve as a resource for third parties laboratories or consultants involved in performing L. monocytogenes shelf-life studies.   Closing the Legislative Gap Under the current framework, Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 does not establish a specific limit for L. monocytogenes in Category 1.2 ready-to-eat foods that are able to support the growth of L. monocytogenes if they are sampled after they have left the immediate control of the food business operator that produced them, and when the operator cannot demonstrate that the limit of 100 cfu/g will not be exceeded throughout the product's shelf life. To address this legislative gap, Commission Regulation (EU) 2024/2895 extends the criterion limit of "L. monocytogenes not detected in 25 g" for "ready-to-eat foods able to support the growth of L. monocytogenes, other than those intended for infants and for special medical purposes” as laid down under food category 1.2 in Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005.   Compliance and Shelf-Life Validation Food businesses that produce ready-to-eat foods capable of supporting the growth of L. monocytogenes, and which do not undergo heat treatment or other processes capable of eliminating L. monocytogenes during production, must be able to demonstrate that their products will remain compliant with the requirements of Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 throughout the shelf-life of the product. To support food business operators in understanding the growth behaviour of L. monocytogenes in the ready-to-eat foods they produce in order to set a safe shelf-life for their products, the new guidance document provides recommendations on: to classify and adequately label their food products as RTE or non-RTE foods, to determine which Lm food safety criterion applies to their food products, to decide on when and which shelf-life studies are needed with respect to Lm to demonstrate that their food products will comply with the Lm criteria until the end of the shelf-life, to validate, verify (initial verification and regular verification) and document that such shelf life studies are adequate to respect the applicable Lm food safety criterion, the options to collaborate in conducting such shelf-life studies.

 A new 'Question to EURCAW' (Q2E) has been published on “Pre-stun shocks in waterbath stunning of Poultry”.   To see more, take a look at https://zenodo.org/records/18257644 and at our Question to EURCAW's subpage! 

A new 'Question to EURCAW' (Q2E) has been published on “Duck catching".   To see more, take a look at https://zenodo.org/records/18160993 and at our Question to EURCAW's subpage! 

Competent Authorities, inspectors and policy workers from EU Member States can ask EURCAW-Poultry-SFA scientific and technical questions they may have regarding poultry and small farmed animals’ welfare. The other EURCAWs provide a similar service for their species: Pigs, Aqua, and Ruminants and Equines. These ‘Questions to EURCAW’ (Q2Es) are regularly submitted and answers are published online. Unfortunately, sometimes the research literature is unclear or even lacking on some important questions. In those cases, “further research is necessary”. The four EURCAWs have been invited by the EU Partnership on Animal Health and Welfare (link) to submit urgent research needs. The Partnership is currently revising its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), and will consider new important topics. Fingers crossed that these questions from MS officials will be answered in the future, through sound science!