[Residues of antibiotics and chemotherapeutics in meat]

Abstract

Antibiotics and chemotherapeutics in food may only be present in concentrations below a toxicologically approved level. To check the established limits laboratories depend on reliable methods: on the one hand rapid and inexpensive screening tests (biological and immunological methods), on the other hand rather costly but very specific chemical-analytical reference methods. The results of residue testing in a big slaughter plant are presented. Residues of antibiotics were mainly found in calves. The most frequently detected drugs were tetracyclines, sulfonamides and aminoglycosides.