Veterinary drug residues in food: multiclass analytical methods employing LC-MS/MS, exposition data and residual depletion study

Abstract

The veterinary pharmaceutical industry market in the world and even in Brazil, has shown significant growth over the last few years, highlighting the importance of using these substances in different animal production systems and advising on the need for inspection of products intended human consumption with regard to the issue of food security. Consistently, researchers have been working to improve the analytical methods in order to obtain reliable results even in trace concentrations of these substances (µg/kg). A major trend in recent analytical methods published in scientific literature search reveals the possibility of determining simultaneously the maximum number of compounds of veterinary drugs as possible from different therapeutic classes (antimicrobial, antiparasitic, etc.) in different food matrices in the same analysis. However, unlike what is already a reality for methods aimed at determination of pesticide residues, there are few multiresidue methods for veterinary drugs from different classes, able to meet the criteria needed for a wide range of different compounds. Brazil has national programs to monitoring of drugs (and possible metabolites) in many different food products of animal origin, but still lacking the availability of analytical methods like multiclass. Against this background, this project is proposed in order to develop and validate analytical methods multiresidues, which can be applied for determining the largest number of veterinary drugs as possible in different classes (multiclass) and with the versatility to be used in analyzes of different food matrices, with the aim of contributing to national programs for monitoring these substances in foodstuffs of animal origin. Based on the methods developed, it is proposed to undertake analyzes of different food matrices, from products available to consumers in the cities of São Paulo, in order to contribute to national regulators, with results that allow an assessment of the panorama exposure of consumers to these compounds. Due to lack of veterinary medicines properly regulated in Brazil to be employed in aquaculture production systems, this project also aims to conduct studies of depletion of residual drugs already regulated for use in fish farming in other countries, with the objective of estimating the period need for major fish species commercially grown in Brazil. (AU)