Standardization and validation of an ELISA kit for the quantification of chloraphenicol in products of animal origin

Abstract

The control of toxic residues in agricultural and livestock products is the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, which up until now has not carried out a significant statistical assessment of the annual herd slaughtered. The justification would lie in the fact that there is no national laboratory for the production of kits and in their high import cost. Meat importing countries in the European Union do not accept departures from health norms due to previous problems with the spread of diseases in their herds. In addition to exaggerated reservations in the market, the present situation is at emergency level with regard to agricultural products such as soya, coffee and fruit and vegetable farmers. One of the areas of research being pursued in the Laboratory for Animal Nutrition in the Center for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture (CENA), of the Luiz de Queiroz Agricultural College in the University of São Paulo, involves the standardization of Elisa kits for the detection and quantification of toxic residues in farming and livestock products. The Ministry of Agriculture’s accreditation process, necessary in order to begin commercial production of the kits, requires the standardized methodologies to be validated. Given that CENA’s laboratories are not adequate for international quality control systems ISO 17025 and BPL, a partnership has been signed with Ata Análise, which possesses the technical infrastructure and commercial experience necessary for the accomplishment of the project. (AU)