{
 "dataset": "labelling",
 "title": "Reading a veterinary label: strength, storage, in-use life and withdrawal",
 "description": "Five reference tables covering the four ways a product states its strength, what each storage phrase constrains, what changes when a container is opened, what governs the length of a withdrawal period, and the five recurring ways a correctly intended wait still ends in a residue failure.",
 "generated": "2026-09-17",
 "count": 27,
 "table_count": 5,
 "publisher": {
  "name": "Galen",
  "url": "https://galen.vet/",
  "documentation": "https://galen.vet/api/",
  "contact": "hello@galen.vet",
  "byline": {
   "name": "Galen editorial",
   "url": "https://galen.vet/about/",
   "type": "Organization",
   "note": "An organisation byline, deliberately, and not a named expert. Nobody on this masthead is a practising clinician; a named authority who does not exist would be a lie in machine-readable form. Where a veterinarian reviews a page, the name, qualification and date are attached to that page rather than to the site."
  }
 },
 "licence": {
  "id": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "name": "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International",
  "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "attribution": "Galen (https://galen.vet)",
  "covers": "The compilation: the article index, the reference tables as structured here, the source registry and every derived field. Use it commercially, modify it, redistribute it; credit Galen with a link. The underlying standards, guidelines and reference works belong to the bodies that publish them and are cited row by row."
 },
 "scope_limits": {
  "no_dosing": "Galen publishes no doses, dose rates, dose intervals or dose calculations, for any species or any product. The figure that applies is on the approved label of the product in front of you, interpreted by the veterinarian who has examined the animal.",
  "no_diagnosis": "Nothing here diagnoses. A sign is not a disease and a list of signs is not a differential. What is published is what a measurement or a label phrase MEANS, so that a conversation with a veterinarian starts from the right place.",
  "no_products": "No product is named and none is recommended. Which product is appropriate is a clinical decision and, in most jurisdictions, a prescribing one.",
  "no_clearance": "An absent row is never a statement of safety. These tables list what they list; the space around them is unexamined, not cleared.",
  "emergency": "If an animal has swallowed something, is collapsed, is struggling to breathe, is bloated and retching unproductively, or is deteriorating after a bite or sting, the answer is a veterinarian or an animal poison centre immediately — not a reference page and not an agent.",
  "jurisdiction": "Veterinary medicines law is national. Where a figure or a rule belongs to one regime it is named as such; where a page describes a pattern common to several, it says so. Nothing here should be read as the law of a country it does not name."
 },
 "not_published": [
  {
   "what": "Dose tables, dose rates and dose calculators",
   "why": "Out of scope by editorial policy, not by omission. A dose depends on the individual animal, the product and the indication; a dose quoted from a general reference is how an overdose happens.",
   "instead": "The approved label of the product, and the veterinarian who has examined the animal."
  },
  {
   "what": "Numeric withdrawal periods and maximum residue limits",
   "why": "They are product-, species- and route-specific and they change. Publishing a snapshot of them would produce a number that is authoritative-looking, quotable and wrong within a year — the shape of error this site is built to avoid.",
   "instead": "Codex Alimentarius for MRLs, and the national register or the product label for the withdrawal period that applies. Both are keyed in /api/v1/sources.json."
  },
  {
   "what": "A product register, a price list or a supplier directory",
   "why": "Galen is a reference publication, not a marketplace. It sells nothing and lists nobody.",
   "instead": "The national medicines register for the country concerned."
  },
  {
   "what": "A full toxic-plant or toxic-substance database",
   "why": "ASPCA and the poison centres maintain these, keep them current and answer the telephone. Republishing a stale copy of a safety list is worse than not having one.",
   "instead": "ASPCA Animal Poison Control and Pet Poison Helpline, both keyed in /api/v1/sources.json."
  },
  {
   "what": "Analytics, reader data or any personal data of any kind",
   "why": "None is collected into anything publishable. There is no account, no form and no log export.",
   "instead": null
  }
 ],
 "corrections": {
  "how": "Email hello@galen.vet with the URL and the source that contradicts it.",
  "policy": "A correction to a figure is made in the source registry or the reference data and reaches every surface — page, markdown twin, JSON and MCP — on the next build, because there is only one copy of it."
 },
 "field_notes": {
  "no_figures": "THERE ARE NO NUMERIC WITHDRAWAL PERIODS, MAXIMUM RESIDUE LIMITS OR IN-USE PERIODS IN THIS FILE, and their absence is a decision rather than a gap. They are product-, species- and route-specific, they change, and a snapshot of them would be authoritative-looking, quotable and wrong within a year. The `typical_in_use_period` field is an ORDER OF MAGNITUDE describing the form, never a period to apply.",
  "the_label_wins": "Across every table here, the wording on the product in front of the reader is the requirement. These rows explain what that wording denotes.",
  "independent_instructions": "\"Do not freeze\" and \"protect from light\" are independent instructions, not stricter forms of a temperature range. A product held correctly at 2–8 °C has still failed \"do not freeze\" if it touched a freezing surface.",
  "concentration_is_not_quantity": "A smaller bottle at a higher concentration can hold more active substance than a larger one. This is the single most common misreading of a strength statement.",
  "iu_has_no_conversion": "An international unit measures biological ACTIVITY against a reference preparation. There is no conversion to milligrams that holds across substances — do not compute one."
 },
 "data": [
  {
   "id": "strength-units",
   "title": "The four ways a veterinary product states its strength",
   "about": "What mg/mL, a percentage, an international unit and a titre each measure — and why two of them cannot be converted into the other two.",
   "caveat": "Concentration is not quantity: a smaller bottle at a higher concentration can hold more active substance than a larger one, which is the mistake this page exists to prevent. An IU measures biological ACTIVITY against a reference preparation, so it has no fixed conversion to milligrams that holds across substances, and a titre counts viable organisms or infectivity rather than mass. Galen publishes no doses; strength is what is in the container, not what to give.",
   "source_page": "https://galen.vet/journal/veterinary-drug-units-iu-mg-ml-percent/",
   "sources": [
    {
     "key": "emaVmpRegulation",
     "title": "Veterinary medicinal products regulation",
     "publisher": "European Medicines Agency (EMA)",
     "url": "https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/veterinary-regulatory-overview/veterinary-medicinal-products-regulation"
    },
    {
     "key": "euReg2019",
     "title": "Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products",
     "publisher": "EUR-Lex, Official Journal of the European Union",
     "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/6/oj"
    },
    {
     "key": "vich",
     "title": "VICH guidelines on the technical requirements for veterinary medicinal products",
     "publisher": "VICH (International Cooperation on Harmonisation)",
     "url": "https://vichsec.org/"
    },
    {
     "key": "fdaAnimalDrugs",
     "title": "Animal Drugs @ FDA — approved animal drug products",
     "publisher": "U.S. Food and Drug Administration",
     "url": "https://animaldrugsatfda.fda.gov/"
    }
   ],
   "row_count": 4,
   "rows": [
    {
     "unit": "mg/mL, mg/g, mg per tablet",
     "measures": "Mass of active substance per unit of product",
     "found_on": "Injectable and oral solutions, tablets, ointments, premixes"
    },
    {
     "unit": "Percentage (% w/v or % w/w)",
     "measures": "The same mass, written as a proportion",
     "found_on": "Solutions, ointments, dips, in-feed premixes"
    },
    {
     "unit": "IU (international unit)",
     "measures": "Biological activity against a reference preparation",
     "found_on": "Vitamins A, D and E, some hormones and antibiotics"
    },
    {
     "unit": "CFU, TCID50, EID50, PFU, titre",
     "measures": "Viable organisms or infectivity, per dose or per gram",
     "found_on": "Vaccines, probiotics, live microbial feed additives"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "id": "storage-phrases",
   "title": "What each storage phrase on a veterinary label constrains",
   "about": "The storage vocabulary used on veterinary labelling and what each phrase actually requires, including the two instructions that are independent of a temperature range rather than stricter versions of one.",
   "caveat": "The wording printed on the product in front of you is the requirement; this table explains what that wording denotes. \"Do not freeze\" is an independent instruction — compliance with 2–8 °C does not satisfy it if the container touched a freezing surface — and \"store in a freezer\" is a specific requirement rather than a stricter form of refrigeration.",
   "source_page": "https://galen.vet/journal/storing-veterinary-medicines-cold-chain/",
   "sources": [
    {
     "key": "emaVmpRegulation",
     "title": "Veterinary medicinal products regulation",
     "publisher": "European Medicines Agency (EMA)",
     "url": "https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/veterinary-regulatory-overview/veterinary-medicinal-products-regulation"
    },
    {
     "key": "euReg2019",
     "title": "Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products",
     "publisher": "EUR-Lex, Official Journal of the European Union",
     "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/6/oj"
    },
    {
     "key": "ukVmd",
     "title": "Veterinary Medicines Directorate",
     "publisher": "UK Government",
     "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterinary-medicines-directorate"
    },
    {
     "key": "woahManual",
     "title": "Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals",
     "publisher": "World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH)",
     "url": "https://www.woah.org/en/what-we-do/standards/codes-and-manuals/terrestrial-manual-online-access/"
    }
   ],
   "row_count": 6,
   "rows": [
    {
     "phrase": "Store below 25 °C / below 30 °C",
     "means": "An upper limit for ambient storage, with no lower bound stated",
     "applies_to": "Many tablets, oral solutions, ointments, premixes"
    },
    {
     "phrase": "Store at 2–8 °C",
     "means": "Refrigerated, with a floor as well as a ceiling",
     "applies_to": "Vaccines, sera, many biologicals, some antibiotics"
    },
    {
     "phrase": "Do not freeze",
     "means": "An independent instruction: 2–8 °C compliance does not satisfy it if the product touched a freezing surface",
     "applies_to": "Almost all inactivated and adjuvanted vaccines"
    },
    {
     "phrase": "Store in a freezer",
     "means": "A specific requirement, not a stricter version of refrigeration",
     "applies_to": "A small number of products, mostly certain live biologicals"
    },
    {
     "phrase": "Protect from light",
     "means": "Keep in the outer carton; light exposure degrades the substance",
     "applies_to": "Some vitamins, several injectables"
    },
    {
     "phrase": "Protect from frost",
     "means": "Ambient storage, but a heated or frost-free space is required",
     "applies_to": "Aqueous products stored in unheated buildings"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "id": "in-use-shelf-life",
   "title": "In-use shelf life by pharmaceutical form",
   "about": "How the physical form of a veterinary product governs what happens once the container is opened or reconstituted, and the order of magnitude of the in-use period that follows.",
   "caveat": "These are the ranges typically seen on approved labelling, expressed as orders of magnitude rather than as figures to apply. THE PERIOD THAT APPLIES IS THE ONE PRINTED ON THE PRODUCT IN FRONT OF YOU. An in-use period is not a second expiry date: it runs from first broaching, it can be shorter than the remaining shelf life by months, and it assumes the storage condition on the label was maintained throughout.",
   "source_page": "https://galen.vet/journal/in-use-shelf-life-after-opening/",
   "sources": [
    {
     "key": "emaVmpRegulation",
     "title": "Veterinary medicinal products regulation",
     "publisher": "European Medicines Agency (EMA)",
     "url": "https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/veterinary-regulatory-overview/veterinary-medicinal-products-regulation"
    },
    {
     "key": "euReg2019",
     "title": "Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products",
     "publisher": "EUR-Lex, Official Journal of the European Union",
     "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/6/oj"
    },
    {
     "key": "vich",
     "title": "VICH guidelines on the technical requirements for veterinary medicinal products",
     "publisher": "VICH (International Cooperation on Harmonisation)",
     "url": "https://vichsec.org/"
    },
    {
     "key": "ukVmd",
     "title": "Veterinary Medicines Directorate",
     "publisher": "UK Government",
     "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterinary-medicines-directorate"
    }
   ],
   "row_count": 7,
   "rows": [
    {
     "form": "Reconstituted lyophilised vaccine",
     "changes_on_opening": "Stability was in the dryness; the solution is not stable",
     "typical_in_use_period": "Hours, or \"use immediately\" / same session"
    },
    {
     "form": "Aqueous multi-dose injectable",
     "changes_on_opening": "Relies on a preservative with finite capacity",
     "typical_in_use_period": "Hours to a small number of days, refrigerated"
    },
    {
     "form": "Oil-based or suspension injectable",
     "changes_on_opening": "Can separate; needs resuspension before each use",
     "typical_in_use_period": "Days, where stated; often single-session"
    },
    {
     "form": "Single-dose ampoule or tube",
     "changes_on_opening": "No preservative — designed to be used once",
     "typical_in_use_period": "Discard immediately after use"
    },
    {
     "form": "Oral solution in a bottle",
     "changes_on_opening": "Air and repeated handling of the closure",
     "typical_in_use_period": "Weeks to a few months, where stated"
    },
    {
     "form": "Tablets in a jar",
     "changes_on_opening": "Moisture exchange with the air from first opening",
     "typical_in_use_period": "Months, where stated; blisters unaffected until opened"
    },
    {
     "form": "Intramammary tube, ointment",
     "changes_on_opening": "Direct contamination of the applicator",
     "typical_in_use_period": "Single use"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "id": "withdrawal-by-presentation",
   "title": "Why the formulation, not the substance, governs the wait",
   "about": "How withdrawal periods differ between presentations of one active substance, and what each presentation counts its period from.",
   "caveat": "THIS TABLE CARRIES NO FIGURES AND IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ONE. It describes the pattern; the withdrawal period that applies is printed on the product in hand and is specific to that formulation, that species and that route. A withdrawal period read from memory, or taken from a previous formulation of the same substance, is one of the documented ways a correctly intended wait still ends in a residue failure.",
   "source_page": "https://galen.vet/journal/withdrawal-periods-meat-milk-eggs/",
   "sources": [
    {
     "key": "codexMrl",
     "title": "Maximum Residue Limits for veterinary drugs in foods",
     "publisher": "Codex Alimentarius (FAO/WHO)",
     "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/maximum-residue-limits/en/"
    },
    {
     "key": "emaVmpRegulation",
     "title": "Veterinary medicinal products regulation",
     "publisher": "European Medicines Agency (EMA)",
     "url": "https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/veterinary-regulatory-overview/veterinary-medicinal-products-regulation"
    },
    {
     "key": "euReg2019",
     "title": "Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products",
     "publisher": "EUR-Lex, Official Journal of the European Union",
     "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2019/6/oj"
    },
    {
     "key": "ukVmd",
     "title": "Veterinary Medicines Directorate",
     "publisher": "UK Government",
     "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterinary-medicines-directorate"
    },
    {
     "key": "fdaAnimalDrugs",
     "title": "Animal Drugs @ FDA — approved animal drug products",
     "publisher": "U.S. Food and Drug Administration",
     "url": "https://animaldrugsatfda.fda.gov/"
    }
   ],
   "row_count": 5,
   "rows": [
    {
     "presentation": "Conventional injectable",
     "how_it_releases": "Absorbed and cleared over hours",
     "effect_on_withdrawal": "Shortest of the injectable options"
    },
    {
     "presentation": "Long-acting injectable",
     "how_it_releases": "Depot formulation releasing over days",
     "effect_on_withdrawal": "Substantially longer — often several times the conventional figure"
    },
    {
     "presentation": "Intramammary, lactating cow",
     "how_it_releases": "Delivered into the udder directly",
     "effect_on_withdrawal": "Milk withdrawal counted in milkings; meat withdrawal usually short"
    },
    {
     "presentation": "Intramammary, dry cow",
     "how_it_releases": "Persists through the dry period by design",
     "effect_on_withdrawal": "Withdrawal tied to calving date, not to the day of administration"
    },
    {
     "presentation": "In-feed or in-water medication",
     "how_it_releases": "Consumed over several days by a group",
     "effect_on_withdrawal": "Counted from the last day the medicated feed or water was available"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "id": "residue-failures",
   "title": "Five ways a correctly observed withdrawal period still fails",
   "about": "The recurring records-and-handling failures behind residue findings. Each is a process problem rather than a pharmacology problem, which is why each has a cheap countermeasure.",
   "caveat": "None of these is a failure of the withdrawal period itself. Every one is a break in the chain that carries the withdrawal status from the person who treated the animal to the person who milks, sells or slaughters it.",
   "source_page": "https://galen.vet/journal/withdrawal-periods-meat-milk-eggs/",
   "sources": [
    {
     "key": "codexMrl",
     "title": "Maximum Residue Limits for veterinary drugs in foods",
     "publisher": "Codex Alimentarius (FAO/WHO)",
     "url": "https://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/codex-texts/maximum-residue-limits/en/"
    },
    {
     "key": "ukVmd",
     "title": "Veterinary Medicines Directorate",
     "publisher": "UK Government",
     "url": "https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/veterinary-medicines-directorate"
    },
    {
     "key": "fdaAnimalDrugs",
     "title": "Animal Drugs @ FDA — approved animal drug products",
     "publisher": "U.S. Food and Drug Administration",
     "url": "https://animaldrugsatfda.fda.gov/"
    },
    {
     "key": "efsaAmr",
     "title": "Antimicrobial resistance — monitoring and JIACRA reports",
     "publisher": "European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)",
     "url": "https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/topics/topic/antimicrobial-resistance"
    }
   ],
   "row_count": 5,
   "rows": [
    {
     "failure": "Treated cow milked into the tank",
     "what_happened": "Marking wore off, or the person milking was not the person who treated"
    },
    {
     "failure": "Clock started on the wrong day",
     "what_happened": "Counted from the first day of the course rather than the last administration"
    },
    {
     "failure": "Medicated feed left in the system",
     "what_happened": "Hopper or water line not emptied and flushed before the period was counted"
    },
    {
     "failure": "Wrong figure applied",
     "what_happened": "The withdrawal period of a previous formulation of the same substance was used from memory"
    },
    {
     "failure": "Animal sold too early",
     "what_happened": "Movement of a treated animal to a buyer without the withdrawal status travelling with it"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "related": {
  "articles": "https://galen.vet/api/v1/articles.json",
  "sources": "https://galen.vet/api/v1/sources.json",
  "documentation": "https://galen.vet/api/"
 }
}