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Madrid: Spanish researchers have developed a fast
and precise method to flag tiny amounts of drugs present in milk
powder and meat-based baby food.
Antibiotics, such as tilmicosine, or antiparasitic drugs, such as
levamisole, are given to livestock in order to avoid illness, but
they can remain later in food.
"The concentrations detected have been generally very low. On one
hand, this suggests they are not worrying amounts, on the other
hand, it shows the need to control these products to guarantee
food safety," Antonia Garrido, professor of analytical chemistry,
University of Almeria, was quoted as saying in the journal Food
Chemistry.
A 'multi-residue' method, developed by Garrido's team, allows
several drugs to be detected at a time in baby food. The "precise,
simple and fast" methodology has been validated by analysing 12
meat products (cow, pig or poultry) and nine milk powder samples,
according to Spanish Scientific News Agency (SINC).
Sulphonamides, macrolides and other antibiotic traces have been
found, as well as anthelmintics (anti-worm) and fungicides. In
total, they found five veterinary drugs in milk powder and 10 in
meat products, especially if they were chicken or other poultry.
Until now, the European Commission has regulated the levels of
pesticides and other substances in cereal-based foods for children
and babies, but not in animal-based foods.
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