Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jan;59(1):e4993.
doi: 10.1002/jms.4993.

LC-MS/MS analysis of coccidiostats in meat supply chain safety

Claudia Ancillotti  1 , Lisa Bonciani  1 , Davide Passerini  1 , Giulia Scanavini  1 , Roberto Riccio  1
Affiliations

LC-MS/MS analysis of coccidiostats in meat supply chain safety

Claudia Ancillotti et al. J Mass Spectrom. 2024 Jan.

Abstract

The presence of coccidiostats in meat products represents an important topic because of the animal administration of these substances, authorized as feed additives for targeted species, in order to prevent and inhibit coccidiosis. Coccidiostats include both ionophores and synthetic molecules characterized by different chemical-physical properties such as polarity. Meat is a matrix characterized by many interfering compound groups, such as proteins, phospholipids, and fats. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) analysis allows the required selectivity and sensitivity for discriminating analytes and matrix interferences. For these reasons, an LC-MS/MS method for the analysis of coccidiostats in meat products was developed without SPE purification steps. The correct analyte quantification is allowed by matrix-matched calibration. The method validation was performed by the replicated analysis of spiked meat samples at two different concentration levels (limit of quantification-LOQ-and a 10 times LOQ) in order to evaluate method recovery and repeatability, plus spiked samples at higher concentrations up to 10,000 μg/kg. Moreover, the metrological approach was used for the calculation of method uncertainty. The application of the developed method to real samples evidenced the presence of some non-ionophores coccidiostats in the meat and liver of chicken and rabbit species. Although, the determined concentration was below the established MRLs, the monitoring of coccidiostats in the meat supply chain is confirmed as a good strategy in order to safeguard consumer health.

Keywords: LC-MS/MS; coccidiostats; food safety; liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry; meat products.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

REFERENCES

    1. Roila R, Branciari R, Ranucci D, et al. Incidence of ionophore and non-ionophore anticoccidials residues in poultry meat and eggs and their risk characterization. Italian J Food Safety. 2021;10(1):9332. doi:10.4081/ijfs.2021.9332
    1. Matus J, Boison JO. A multi-residue method for 17 anticoccidial drugs and ractopamine in animal tissues by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry and time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Drug Test Anal. 2016;8(5-6):465-476. doi:10.1002/dta.2019
    1. Roila R, Branciari R, Pecorelli I, et al. Occurrence and residue concentration of coccidiostats in feed and food of animal origin. Human Exposure Assess Foods. 2019;8(10):477. doi:10.3390/foods8100477
    1. Clarke L, Fodey TL, Crooks SRH, et al. A review of coccidiostats and the analysis of their residues in meat and other food. Meat Sci. 2014;97(3):358-374. doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2014.01.004
    1. Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on additives for use in animal nutrition.