Publications


The development of strategies for the effective monitoring of veterinary drug residues in livestock and livestock products in developing countries
A. Cannavan
Book of abstracts of 2nd International Symposium on Recent Advances in Food Analysis, Prague, Czech Republic, 2-4 November 2005.

Abstract
A five-year coordinated research project on the development of strategies for the effective monitoring of veterinary drug residues in livestock and livestock products in developing countries was commenced in 2002. The project is coordinated through the FAO/IAEA Joint Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and involves seventeen researchers from fifteen countries, twelve of which are developing countries or economies in transition. The objectives of the project are to enhance food safety and facilitate trade in livestock products between developing and developed countries through the identification of appropriate screening and confirmatory methods, method development, validation and transfer between partners, and promotion of the implementation of QA/QC procedures and suitable sampling plans for residue monitoring programmes. Three main compounds or classes of compounds of common interest to the participants were selected due to their impact on trade - chloramphenicol, nitrofurans (and their metabolites) and beta agonists. The methodologies evaluated included ELISA, RIA, CHARM, HPLC and LC-MSMS. Problems identified included instability of ELISA reagents under transport and storage in many countries, poor kit performance, lack of continuity of supply of immunoassay kits, difficulties in obtaining reagents in different regions, and difficulties in meeting stringent requirements for export (especially EU requirements). Research/development is focused on elaboration of sample preparation protocols, development of immunoassay reagents and in-house methods for chloramphenicol and beta-agonists, novel HPLC methods for nitrofuran metabolites and development and validation of confirmatory LC-MSMS methods for chloramphenicol and nitrofuran metabolites. Research into the possibility of naturally occurring chloramphenicol has also been instigated. Four developing countries now have the capability to produce good quality ELISA reagents and in-house assays, and confirmatory methods have been validated in 2 developing countries.