Contamination Of Animal Feed Research Articles

축산물 사료중의 Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers(PBDEs) 평가

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are a group of brominated flame retardants (BFRs), which are used in a variety of consumer products. Several of those are produced in large quantities. Their chemical structure similarities to polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as their toxicity, has been studied. PBDEs are persistent and lipophilic, which results in their bioaccumulation in the fatty tissues of organisms and enrichment throughout food chains. In addition, a number of studies also reported high levels of PBDEs in animals and food resulting from the use of contaminated animal feed Public concern about PBDEs levels in animals and food has been raised. Feed contamination by toxic chemicals has been the cause of the contamination of poultry products. The purpose of this study was to evaluate PBDEs in pig feed to search the origin chase of POPs in pigs. Feed samples were obtained wheat from East Europe, corn from South America and America, soybean meal from Korea, America, South America and India and tallow from Korea. The preparation of samples was based on the EPA method 1614. Instrumental analysis was based on the use of high resolution gas chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC/HRMS). Quantification was carried out by the isotopic dilution method. The analysis of <TEX>${\Sigma}PBDEs$</TEX> involved 22 PBDE congeners, including BDE-17, 28, 47, 49, 66, 71, 77, 85, 99, 100, 119, 126, 138, 153, 154, 156, 183, 184, 190, 191, 196 and 197.

Landfill mining from a deposit of the chlorine/organochlorine industry as source of dioxin contamination of animal feed and assessment of the responsible processes

In 1997, the Polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxin (PCDD)/Polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) concentrations in dairy products in Germany and other European countries increased. The PCDD/PCDF source was contaminated lime used in Brazilian citrus pulp pellets. The contaminated lime was mined from an industrial dump site. However, the detailed origin of the PCDD/PCDFs in the lime was not revealed. This paper investigates the contamination origin and describes the link between lime milk from the dumpsite of a chlorine/organochlorine industry and the contaminated lime. The contaminated lime stem from mining at the corporate landfill of Solvay Indupa in Sao Paulo. The landfill was used for 40 years for deposition of production residues and closed in 1996. The factory operated/operates at least two processes with potentially high PCDD/PCDFs releases namely the oxychlorination process for production of ethylene dichloride (EDC) and the chlor-alkali process. The main landfilled waste was lime milk (1.4 million tons) from the vinyl chloride monomer production (via the acetylene process) along with residues from other processes. The PCDD/PCDF fingerprint revealed that most samples from the chemical landfill showed an EDC PCDD/PCDF pattern with a characteristic octachlorodibenzofuran dominance. The PCDD/PCDF pattern of a Rio Grande sediment samples downstream the facility showed a chlor-alkali pattern with a minor impact of the EDC pattern. The case highlights that PCDD/PCDF- and persistent organic pollutants-contaminated sites need to be identified in a comprehensive manner as required by the Stockholm Convention (article 6) and controlled for their impact on the environment and human health. Landfill mining and reuse of materials from contaminated deposits should be prohibited.

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in breast milk of first-time Irish mothers: Impact of the 2008 dioxin incident in Ireland

The 2008 dioxin incident in Ireland resulted in elevated concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Irish pork and pork products, due to the consumption of contaminated animal feed by pigs. In order to investigate any resulting impact on the Irish population, these contaminants were measured in pooled breast milk samples from 109 first-time mothers, collected in 2010. A comparison of the results with similar data from 2002 revealed generally lower concentrations of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in the 2010 samples, confirming the declining trend reported by many authors. Contaminant concentration levels for both 2002 and 2010 were generally slightly lower than those reported internationally, with a mean combined PCDD/F and PCB WHO-TEQ of 9.66pgg−1fat, for an overall pooled sample of milk from 2010. An apparent slight increase in PCDFs was observed between 2002 and 2010 (from 2.73pg WHO-TEQ g−1fat to 3.21pg WHO-TEQ g−1fat), with the main contributory congener being 2,3,4,7,8-PentaCDF. While it cannot be totally discounted that the slight increase in 2,3,4,7,8-PentaCDF and in the overall PCDF WHO-TEQ in breast milk could be attributable to consumption of Irish pork during the 2008 incident, we consider that it is more likely that this was due to other factors, including the predominantly urban/industrial sampling locations for the 2010 samples, compared to 2002.

Validation of an open-formula, diagnostic real-time PCR method for 20-h detection of Salmonella in animal feeds

A comparative study of a 20-h, non-commercial, open-formula PCR method and the standard culture-based method NMKL 187, for detection of Salmonella, was performed according to the validation protocol from the Nordic organisation for validation of alternative microbiological methods (NordVal) on 81 artificially or naturally contaminated animal feed samples. The PCR method is based on culture enrichment in buffered peptone water for 16±2h followed by a magnetic beads based semi automated DNA extraction and real-time PCR analysis, including an internal amplification control. The limit of detection (LOD50) was found to be 7.19 and 7.24CFU/sample for the PCR method and NMKL187, respectively. A very good correlation between results obtained by the two methods was found (Cohen's kappa=0.92). The relative accuracy, relative sensitivity and relative specificity were found to be 97.5%, 102.0% and 96.6%, respectively. This method is the fastest open PCR based analysis protocol for detection of Salmonella in feed samples. Implementing rapid methods such as the one validated in this study can speed up Salmonella testing of feed for food-producing animals.

Mycotoxin contamination of the feed supply chain: Implications for animal productivity and feed security

Fungi are ubiquitous and formation of mycotoxins can occur in all agricultural commodities under appropriate field or storage conditions throughout the animal feed supply chain. In this increasingly complex area, the salient features of a fungal growth and mycotoxin production are outlined with strategies to mitigate their accumulation. Overall, there are a number of approaches that can be taken to minimise mycotoxin contamination in animal feeds and these involve prevention of fungal growth and therefore mycotoxin formation, and strategies to reduce or eliminate mycotoxins from contaminated commodities, especially feed additives. The major problem associated with mycotoxin contaminated animal feed is not acute disease episodes but low level toxin ingestion which may cause an array of metabolic disturbances resulting in poor animal productivity. In studies with pigs and poultry it has been shown that low level mycotoxin intake can result in reduced feed intake, poor growth rate, lower egg production, changes in carcass quality, reduced fertility and hatchability of eggs and immunosuppression. It is concluded that mycotoxins constitute a significant problem for the animal feed industry and an ongoing risk to feed supply security.

Simultaneous and rapid detection of six different mycotoxins using an immunochip

Mycotoxins are highly toxic contaminants in food, animal feed, and commodities. The study has developed an immunochip for quantifying the concentrations of six mycotoxins: aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin M1, deoxynivalenol, ochratoxin A, T-2 toxin, and zearalenone, which were added to drinking water. The complete antigens (Ags) of the mycotoxins were contact printed and immobilized onto agarose-modified glass slides with 12 physically isolated subarrays, based on the reaction of both diffusion and covalent bond. The optimal concentration of each antigen and antibody (Ab) was obtained using an Ag–Ab immunoassay. Based on the indirect competitive immunoassay for the simultaneous detection of six mycotoxins in one single chip, six standard curves with good logistic correlation (R2>0.97) were respectively plotted. The working ranges (0.04–1.69, 0.45–3.90, 20.20–69.23, 35.68–363.18, 0.11–1.81, and 0.08–7.47ng/mL, respectively) were calculated, as well as the median inhibitory concentrations (0.31±0.04, 1.49±0.21, 34.54±1.30, 134.06±11.75, 0.49±0.05, and 1.54±0.22ng/mL, respectively), when six mycotoxins were detected simultaneously. Finally, the recovery rates in drinking water generally ranged from 80% to 120% on the same chip, with an intra-assay coefficient of variation lower than 15%. We successfully established an immunochip for simultaneous detection of six mycotoxins within 4h, with advantages of using minimal samples and being visually semiquantitative with our naked eyes. In summary, the method could be developed on one single chip for detecting multiple contaminants in actual samples.

Frequent biphasic cellular responses of permanent fish cell cultures to deoxynivalenol (DON)

Contamination of animal feed with mycotoxins is a major problem for fish feed mainly due to usage of contaminated ingredients for production and inappropriate storage of feed. The use of cereals for fish food production further increases the risk of a potential contamination. Potential contaminants include the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) which is synthesized by globally distributed fungi of the genus Fusarium. The toxicity of DON is well recognized in mammals. In this study, we confirm cytotoxic effects of DON in established permanent fish cell lines. We demonstrate that DON is capable of influencing the metabolic activity and cell viability in fish cells as determined by different assays to indicate possible cellular targets of this toxin. Evaluation of cell viability by measurement of membrane integrity, mitochondrial activity and lysosomal function after 24 h of exposure of fish cell lines to DON at a concentration range of 0–3000 ng ml −1 shows a biphasic effect on cells although differences in sensitivity occur. The cell lines derived from rainbow trout are particularly sensitive to DON. The focus of this study lies, furthermore, on the effects of DON at different concentrations on production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the different fish cell lines. The results show that DON mainly reduces ROS production in all cell lines that were used. Thus, our comparative investigations reveal that the fish cell lines show distinct species-related endpoint sensitivities that also depend on the type of tissue from which the cells were derived and the severity of exposure.

Effects of zearalenone and its derivatives on porcine immune response

Zearalenone (ZEN), a mycotoxin produced by several Fusarium spp., is most commonly found as a contaminant in stored grain and has chronic estrogenic effects on mammals. In this in vitro study, we compared the effects of zearalenone (ZEN) and some of its derivatives: α-zearalenol (α-ZOL), β-zearalenol (β-ZOL), and zearalanone (ZAN) on several peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) parameters: cytotoxicity, proliferation, as well as antibody and cytokine synthesis. The amounts of toxins necessary to inhibit viability, in a dehydrogenase enzyme activity assay (MTT test), by 50% were: 22.7μM for ZEN, 29.1μM for α-ZOL, 17.3μM for β-ZOL and 26.3μM for ZAN. The administration of 10μM toxin induced a decrease in the ConA stimulated proliferation of PBMC by 19.6% for ZAN, 45.4% for ZEN, 43.6% for α-ZOL and 85.2% for β-ZOL, when compared to the control stimulated cells. Also, ZEN and its metabolites at concentrations higher than 5μM induced a significant decrease of the IgG, IgA or IgM levels. Concentrations of 5 and 10μM of ZEN and ZAN significantly decreased the TNF-α synthesis in the supernatant of the stimulated cells; 10μM of ZAN also decreased IL-8 synthesis. In conclusion, our results show that ZEN and ZEN derivatives altered several parameters of the humoral and cellular immune response.Therefore, our results are clinically relevant as ZEN and its metabolites are frequent contaminants of animal feed and we have shown that intoxicated animals are incapable of inducing an adequate immune response.

Enzyme immunassay of alternariol for the assessment of risk of agricultural products contamination

A highly specific test system based on polyclonal rabbit antibodies targeting a conjugate of alternariol and bovine serum albumin prepared by formaldehyde condensation has been developed for the first time and shown to have the sensitivity of 0.4 ng/ml in the indirect competitive determination of alternariol. The possibility of applying the assay for assessment of the intensity of alternariol contamination of corn, animal feed, and raw materials used for the preparation of the latter has been demonstrated.

Levels and patterns of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPS) in selected food items from Northwest Russia (1998–2002) and implications for dietary exposure

Residues of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were analysed in 70 selected food items from Northwest Russia in 1998–2002. Levels of PCBs ranged from 0.2 to 16 ng/g wet weight (ww) in dairy products and fats, 0.2 to 23 ng/g ww in meat products, 0.5 to 16 ng/g ww in eggs and 0.3 to 30 ng/g ww in fish. High levels of DDT (16 ng/g ww) were found in locally produced butter from Kola Peninsula, in pork fat from Arkhangels region (10 to 130 ng/g ww) and in some fish samples from White Sea and Kargopol region (17 and 30 ng/g ww). Findings of low DDE/DDT ratios in many of the studied food items indicated recent contamination to DDTs. Mean levels of sum TEQs WHO1998 of dioxin-like mono-ortho PCBs: PCBs 105, 118, 156 and 157 (∑ mo-PCBs-TEQs WHO1998) were highest in dairy products, chicken eggs and fish, with levels of 0.292, 0.245 and 0.254 pg/g ww, respectively. The estimated daily intake (EDI) for ∑ mo-PCBs-TEQs WHO1998 was 0.74 pg/kgbw/day and in the same range as in Sweden and Denmark. Fish, dairy products, eggs and meat were the main contributors to the EDI of ∑ mo-PCBs-TEQs WHO1998. The EDIs of DDTs, HCHs and HCB were several times higher than in Sweden and Denmark. Consumption of meat and poultry were important sources for intake of DDTs and HCHs, respectively. Contamination of animal feed and agricultural practice were assumed the most important causes for the results in the present study. However, increased control on maximum residue levels in food and feed may have resulted in large changes on levels and patterns of POPs in food in the studied areas.

DNA microarray for tracing Salmonella in the feed chain

In the present study we investigated if the microarray platforms Premi®Test Salmonella (PTS) and Salmonella array (SA) could be applied for the identification and typing of Salmonella in artificially contaminated animal feed materials. The results were compared to the culture-based MSRV method and serotyping according to Kauffman–White. The SA platform showed a specificity of 100% for the identification of Salmonella compared to 93% with the PTS platform and a sensitivity of 99% or 100%, respectively. Among all identified Salmonella serotypes, 56% with the SA platform and 81% with the PTS platform were correctly identified. The difference in probe signal intensity for each probe was higher between duplicates analyzed with the SA platform than with the PTS platform. Attempts to use the microarray platforms from BPW resulted in many false negative samples and incorrect typing results. The microarray platforms tested were simple to use and might have a potential in tracing studies for Salmonella in the feed chain particularly when rapid information about serotypes are important.

The melamine adulteration scandal

Melamine, a nitrogen-rich chemical, has received much attention in recent years owing to a series of highly publicized food safety incidents. These include pet food recalls in North America in 2007 and the deaths of six infants and the illness of some 300,000 more in China in 2008 owing to the adulteration of milk, infant formula, and other milk-derived products. With contamination of human food and animal feed by melamine becoming a serious public health concern owing to its wide dissemination, there is an urgent need to understand why this scandal occurred and its consequences in depth. This review summarizes information relating to the manufacture, uses, occurrence and quantitative analysis of melamine and melamine analogues. Other sections deal with the unfolding of the melamine scandal and its aftermath, the toxicity and carcinogenicity of the compound and its analogues, interim safety measures and risk assessment.

Risk assessment of toxic contaminants in animal feed.

Abstract Feed contaminants are a broad issue ranging from undesirable or unauthorized feed components or additives through to environmental pollutants and to contaminants related to specific steps of food production, such as storage or cross-contamination. In many cases, e.g. most mycotoxins and plant-derived compounds, feed contaminants may pose a risk mostly for farm animal welfare; however, feeds can also be a major vehicle for the presence of bioaccumulating pollutants in human diet, especially for vulnerable farm animal productions, such as aquaculture or grazing ruminants. Critical risk assessment issues include the characterization of toxicological hazards, the possible pathways of feed contamination and the carry-over of parent compound or metabolites to foods of animal origin as well as the pinpointing of situations that may require risk management measures. Some examples are considered in detail, taking into account the assessments performed by the European Food Safety Authority: cross-contamination by coccidiostats, the endocrine-disrupting mycotoxin zearalenone, the trace element Cr(III) and the persistent organic pollutant hexaclorobenzene. Emerging issues, such as the widespread, bioaccumulating brominated flame retardants and the potentially undesirable high levels of phytooestrogens, are also discussed. Diagnostic health risk assessment, considered as a tool for decision-making in field situations, is also reviewed with regard to unavoidable, long-standing (e.g. methylmercury) and short-term contamination instances. Management of feed contaminants relies primarily on the implementation of good practice in feed production; specific research needs may target feed sources less prone to contamination as well as safe and effective detoxifying agents. Overall, the risk assessment of feed contaminants has a critical role in veterinary public health both as a basis to define the reference thresholds for prevention, as well as guidance for risk diagnosis and field intervention in contamination events.

Declining levels of PCB, HCB and p, p′-DDE in adipose tissue from food producing bovines and swine in Sweden 1991–2004

The official control programme for organochlorine (OC) contaminants in food producing animals in Sweden was used to study temporal and spatial trends of the polychlorinated biphenyl CB 153, hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and p, p′-DDE in adipose tissue from bovines and swine 1991–2004. Our results show that efforts to decrease OC contamination of animal feed and the environment have had a positive impact on the contamination of the animal production. OC concentrations declined significantly in almost all studied regions of Sweden. OC temporal trends were slower in bovines (6–8% per year) than in swine (10–12%). Power analyses showed that data from more than 10 years of sampling were needed for a detection of an annual OC level change of 5% in both species in the control programme, due to large within- and between-year variation in OC levels. CB 153 and p, p′-DDE levels were higher in southern than in northern Sweden. Levels decreased with age in milk cows, but not in young nulliparous cows (heifers) and bulls. Moreover, milk cows and bulls had significantly lower OC levels than heifers. Levels were not age-dependent among swine, but castrated male swine (barrows) had significantly lower OC levels than young female swine (gilts). Levels of the studied OCs are now in many cases below the LOQ of the analytical method used. Future time trend studies of these OCs thus depend on lowered LOQs in the control programme.

Ubiquity of toxigenic fungi and mycotoxins in animal feeds in Republic of Serbia

Climatic conditions and growing of grain on large areas in Republic of Serbia are suitable for development of numerous toxigenic species, such as Fusarium spp., Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp., and resulting from this is frequent incidence of animal feed contamination by their toxic products. In Republic of Serbia, the most frequent fungi determined in animal feed are those from Fusarium genus, as well as their mycotoxins. Of Fusarium species the most frequent one is F. graminearum, and of toxins zearalenon, in maize or wheat grains, which are the main raw material in production of animal feeds. Development of this fungi and bio-synthesis of zearalenon most often depend on period of rains in the third decade of May when wheat is in the blossoming phenostage or on ample precipitation and low temperatures at the end of summer or beginning of autumn during sensitive pheno-stage of maize growing. Aflatoxins are rarely isolated in Republic of Serbia, but there are conditions for their increased presence in imported feed components. Natural occurrence of ochratoxin A is more frequent than incidence of aflatoxins in climatic conditions of Republic of Serbia. Presence of mycotoxins produced by species of genera Fusarium, Aspergillus and Penicillium indicates potential risk of incidence of mycotoxicosis, especially in younger animal categories. For the purpose of protection of health of animals, realization of profit and high productivity in livestock production, it is necessary to explain factors which can cause animal intoxication, and to identify toxins and develop methodology for assessment of the potential toxicity of animal feed.

Adsorption of T-2 toxin by natural mineral adsorbents

The contamination of animal feed with mycotoxins represents a worldwide problem leading to economic losses in animal production. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 25% of the world's cereal grain production is contaminated with mycotoxins. The most common mycotoxins found in grains are the aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins, trichothecenes, zearalenone and the ergopeptine alkaloids. Trichothecenes, constitute the largest group of Fusarium mycotoxins. Among others, T-2 toxin is the most acute toxic trichothecene. In this paper, adsorption of T-2 toxin by natural mineral adsorbents zeolite-clinop-tilolite and smectite minerals - bentonite and hectorite, at pH 3 was investigated. The highest adsorption index was achieved for hectorite (95%), while clinoptilolite and bentonite showed low adsorption index for T-2 toxin, 8% and 13%, respectively. Results of T-2 toxin adsorption on hectorite, at different amount of solid phase in suspension, and at pH 3, 7 and 9, showed that toxin adsorption indexes increased with increase of adsorbent concentration in suspension, at all investigated pH values. No significant differences in T-2 toxin adsorption by hectorite, at pH 3, 7 and 9 were observed.

Validation of a Diagnostic PCR Method for Routine Analysis of Salmonella spp. in Animal Feed Samples

As a part of a validation study, a comparative study of a PCR method and the standard culture-based method NMKL-71, for detection of Salmonella, was performed according to the validation protocol from the Nordic validation organ for validation of alternative microbiological methods (NordVal) on 250 artificially or naturally contaminated animal feed samples. The PCR method is based on culture enrichment in buffered peptone water followed by PCR using the DNA polymerase Tth and an internal amplification control. No significant difference was found between the two methods. The relative accuracy, relative sensitivity and relative specificity were found to be 96.0, 97.3, and 98.8%, respectively. PCR inhibition was observed for rape seed samples. For the acidified feed samples, more Salmonella-positive samples were found with the PCR method compared to the NMKL method. This study focuses on the growing demand for validated diagnostic PCR methods for routine analysis of animal feed and food samples to assure safety in the food production chain.

Variations in zearalenone activation in avian food species

Zearalenone (ZEA), a widely distributed oestrogenic fusariotoxin, constitutes a potential risk for human and animal health. ZEA is metabolised to the main metabolites identified in vitro and in vivo: alpha-zearalenol (α-ZOL) and beta-zearalenol (β-ZOL). The efficiency to produce alpha-reduced metabolites appears of particular interest in risk assessment as alpha-reduced metabolites constitute activated forms whereas beta-reduced metabolites are less oestrogenic than ZEA. In this study ZEA activation was compared in avian food species. ZEA and its reduced metabolites were quantified in subcellular fractions of six avian species and rat livers. The α-ZOL/β-ZOL ratio in rats was 19. The various avian food species cannot be considered to be equivalent in terms of ZEA reduction (P<0.001). Quails represented high “beta reducers”, with α-ZOL/β-ZOL ratio less than two. Weak “beta reducers” included on one part ducks and chickens showing α-ZOL/β-ZOL ratio greater than 3 and up to 5.6 and on a second part geese, showing a lower production of α-ZOL than other poultry.Comparisons of enzyme kinetics in ducks and in quails show that these variations can be explained by the action of various isoforms of dehydrogenases. These results are relevant to food safety, in the context of frequently inevitable contamination of animal feed.

Qualitative screening and quantitative determination of pesticides and contaminants in animal feed using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry

A method has been developed for the target analysis of over 100 pesticides and contaminants in a complex feed matrix. The method is based on extraction with ethyl acetate, cleanup by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and dispersive solid-phase extraction (SPE) with primary secondary amine phase (PSA), and analysis by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with full scan time-of-flight mass spectrometric detection (GC × GC–TOF-MS). Parameters studied during method development included a dispersive SPE cleanup step after GPC, large volume injection into the GC system and the GC × GC separation. Qualitative and quantitative performance of the GC × GC system was evaluated by analyzing spiked extracts in the range equivalent to 1–100 μg/kg in feed. At levels of 50 μg/kg and higher, all compounds targeted for could be identified fully automatically by the software based on their mass spectra. At lower levels the hit rate decreased with the concentration. System linearity was excellent in solvent and only slightly affected by matrix (correlation coefficients r ≥ 0.995 for 90% of the compounds). Limits of quantification were in the 1–20 μg/kg range for most compounds. The overall method was validated for 106 compounds at the 10 and 100 μg/kg level. Recoveries between 70% and 110% and RSDs below 20% were obtained for the majority of the compounds.

Residue analysis of veterinary drugs and growth-promoting agents

Two major trends are observed in the analysis of veterinary drugs and growth-promoting agents. First is the selection of sample material for monitoring the use of registered veterinary drugs. Traditionally meat, kidney and liver were analyzed but, due to the food scandals in which meat was very often involved, the consumption of alternative products (e.g., eggs and fish) has become more popular and therefore more of interest for residue-monitoring programmes. Most food scandals started with contamination of animal feed, so feed has also gained interest for monitoring purposes. For the detection of unauthorized substances (e.g., growth-promoting agents), the matrix hair is frequently used because residues can be detected in hair even a long time after treatment. Second, the techniques used for residue analysis are moving from target-orientated methods, mainly based on liquid chromatography in combination with triple-quadrupole mass-spectrometric detection (LC–QqQ-MS), towards accurate mass full-scan MS techniques (e.g., time-of-flight (ToF)-MS and Fourier-transform(FT)-MS. Full-scan MS techniques enable retrospective analysis (i.e. without re-injecting the sample) and real multi-residue analysis (including different classes of veterinary drugs). The application of full-scan MS also has consequences for separation and extraction techniques, which have to be applicable to a broad range of compounds differing in physical and chemical properties. Experience shows that ToF-MS in combination with ultra-performance LC (UPLC) is very powerful for multi-residue analysis. The introduction of new MS techniques also has consequences for European Union (EU) criteria defined for confirmation of the identity of compounds. It is suggested that both mass-resolution and mass-accuracy data influence identity confirmation and both parameters should be implemented in the revision of European Commission Decision 2002/657/EC.