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. 2019 Oct 3;97(10):4193-4198.
doi: 10.1093/jas/skz263.

Quantification of ractopamine residues on and in beef digestive tract tissues

Haley E Davis  1 , Crystal-Dawn Badger  2 , Patrick Brophy  3 , Ifigenia Geornaras  1 , Thomas J Burnett  4 , John Scanga  5 , Keith Belk  1 , Jessica Prenni  6
Affiliations

Quantification of ractopamine residues on and in beef digestive tract tissues

Haley E Davis et al. J Anim Sci. .

Abstract

Ractopamine hydrochloride is a commercial beta-adrenergic agonist commonly used as a dietary supplement in cattle production for improved feed efficiency and growth promotion. Currently, regulatory target tissues (as approved in the New Animal Drug Application with Food and Drug Administration) for ractopamine residue testing are muscle and liver. However, other tissues have recently been subjected to testing in some export markets for U.S. beef, a clear disregard for scientific maximum residue limits associated with specific tissues. The overall goal of this study was to develop and validate an LC-MS/MS assay to determine whether detectable and quantifiable levels of ractopamine in digestive tract-derived edible offal items (i.e., abomasum, omasum, small intestine, and reticulum) of cattle resulted from tissue residues or residual ingesta contamination of exposed surfaces of tissues (rinsates). Tissue samples and corresponding rinsates from 10 animals were analyzed for parent and total ractopamine (tissue samples only). The lower limit of quantitation was between 0.03 and 0.66 ppb depending on the tissue type, and all tissue and rinsate samples tested had quantifiable concentrations of ractopamine. The highest concentrations of tissue-specific ractopamine metabolism (represented by higher total vs. parent ractopamine levels) were observed in liver and small intestine. Contamination from residual ingesta (represented by detectable ractopamine in rinsate samples) was only detected in small intestine, with a measured mean concentration of 19.72 ppb (±12.24 ppb). Taken together, these results underscore the importance of the production process and suggest that improvements may be needed to reduce the likelihood of contamination from residual ractopamine in digestive tract-derived edible offal tissues for market.

Keywords: beef; export; offal tissue; ractopamine; residue.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Extraction efficiency of ractopamine across all tissue types. Results represent the average % extraction efficiency (with SDs) of 3 control samples fortified with 5, 10, or 20 ppb ractopamine.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Accuracy (A) and precision (B) of ractopamine assay across all tissue types and rinsates. Values represent the average % CV and % accuracy (with SDs) for triplicate measurement of control matrix samples fortified with ractopamine at 1, 5, and 25 ppb.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Parent and total ractopamine levels in tissue samples. Values represent the average of 10 animals (with SDs).
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Measured parent ractopamine in rinsates of digestive tissues. Values represent average ppb of 10 animals (with SDs).
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