Pesticide residues in Australian meat

On several occasions in 1987 Australian meat was reported by overseas countries to contain unacceptable levels of pesticide residues. Investigations revealed that the residues were mainly the organochlorine compounds DDT, dieldrin and heptachlor, the concentrations of which exceeded the maximum residue limits. The organochlorines had accumulated in the soil of farms where they were used annually, or more frequently, owing to their long half-life in soils, and grazing animals had accumulated the pesticides in their adipose tissues. Removing the animals to non-contaminated pastures did not reduce the residue levels for some time because their half-lives in the adipose tissues ranged from two to three months. When the problem was recognised action was taken by the Commonwealth Department of Primary Industries and Energy and the relevant Departments of the States and the Northern Territory to identify the affected properties and animals. The affected farms were quarantined and the animals detained until the residue levels were depleted adequately. The use of DDT was banned and dieldrin and heptachlor were permitted to be used only for the control of termites in buildings. Following this action the proportion of samples of beef with residue levels above the permitted limits decreased from 0.42 per cent in 1986/87 to 0.22 per cent in 1987/88.     

Occurrence of residues of organochlorine pesticides, nitromusk compounds and polychlorobiphenyls in Turkish canned fish products

In our study we elaborated an overview on the contamination grade of fish from Turkish waters by selected organochlorine pesticides, nitromusks and chlorobiphenyl congenres. We could demonstrate, that the tested fish species, being prior processed to canned products and brought to the market, contained particularly unmistakable amounts of the above mentioned analytes. Sardines, sardelles and trout gave results generally far below the German regulatory limits. However total DDT in pelamides reached an order of magnitude near the German limit of 0.5 mg/kg (based on wet weight). The necessity of enhanced systematic measurements for monitoring pollutants in fish from Turkish waters thus becomes evident.     

Selenium residues in sheep meat

Selenium did not exceed 108 ng/g in muscle after single subcutaneous dosesof 5 mg selenium into weaned lambs. Levels in liverand kidney exceeded 2000 ng/g only during the first day after treatment.     

Prevalence of antimicrobial residues in pork meat in Madagascar

Residual antimicrobials in food constitute a risk to human health, but poor knowledge is available about the significance of contaminated meat in developing countries. The purpose of the study was to determine the occurrence of antimicrobial drug residues in pork products in Madagascar. The occurrence of antimicrobial drug residues in pork meat were investigated by the Premi® test (DSM^©) technique. There was a high incidence rate of drug residues, with 360 (37.2 %) meat samples being contaminated. A significant increase was observed between 2010 and 2011, with 32 and 39%, respectively. Pork meat samples are less contaminated by drug residues when animals are slaughtered in urban abattoirs (34.4%) vs in provincial abattoirs (42.2%), suggesting that animals under treatment (or sick) are sold preferentially in local abattoir. Drug residue levels in pork meats purchased in Madagascar appear to be serious public health problem at the moment.     

USDA regulation of residues in meat and poultry products

The National Residue Program conducted by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the USDA includes a comprehensive testing program for residues of pesticides, drugs and other chemical contaminants in meat and poultry. Prevention strategies encourage producers to adopt quality control measures in their production management to prevent illegal residues in food. These activities have been effective in reducing the occurrence of violative residues and the potential for adverse health effects. Overall, the number of domestic monitoring samples containing violative residues is low-about 1% of samples tested. Violative residues are found less frequently in poultry than in livestock. More occur in swine than in other species; the least number occur in fed cattle and broilers. Testing results over the last 10 yr show that most drugs and pesticides used to enhance agricultural productivity are not causing a residue problem in meat and poultry. However, the FSIS cannot be complacent about its program achievements. Unacceptably high incidences of violative residues of certain drugs, namely, sulfonamides and antibiotics, still occur in particular production classes. For example, the incidence of violative sulfonamide residues in liver samples from swine slaughtered in 1985 was about 6%, with significant differences between geographical areas. An estimated 2.5% of market hogs had violative sulfamethazine residues in the muscle tissue. The FSIS is taking steps to correct this and other residue problems by strengthening the link between residue detection and enforcement and by expanding its analytical capability to monitor for residues.     

Occurrence of sulfa drug residues in canadian pork liver

Sulfonamide residues in the livers of wholesome carcasses of Canadian pork were monitored over the six year period ending March 31, 1985. The annual rate of violative residues decreased from 9.92% to 2.75% over the course of the six years. At present the incidence of violation in the livers is 2.35% and there is no significant difference within the various regions of Canada. This would result in a muscle violative rate of 0.8%.

The only sulfonamide found at violative levels was sulfamethazine. All violative samples were within the range 0.11-4.00 ppm. Over the period of the survey the incidence of violations at all levels decreased. Violations at higher levels decreased most rapidly resulting in a continuous reduction of the mean level in violative samples.

     

Occurrence of pale soft exudative meat in mature turkey hens

1. Colour distribution of mature turkey hen breast meat was evaluated during the year in 7 commercial flocks (100 samples/flock) to assess the occurrence of the pale soft and exudative (PSE) problem. Evaluation was done on the processing line 24 h post mortem.

2. In addition, 10 selected samples/flock were analysed for pH, water holding capacity (WHC), and texture. The average L* value (lightness) was 48.9 with a variance of 15.3, skewness of 0.16, and kurtosis of 0.17. Minimum and maximum L* values recorded during die study were 37.7 and 58.5, respectively.

3. The pH ranged from 5.68 to 6.64 (mean 5.96), WHC ranged from 7 to 102% (mean 41%), and gel strength for the cooked samples ranged from 30 to 54 N (mean 44N).

4. Correlations between colour and WHC indicated die potential use of a fast colour measurement to identify PSE meat.

5. Breast muscle samples with L*s52 exhibited poor WHC. When this value was used as a cut off point for identifying PSE meat, die lowest incident observed was 5% and the highest was 40%.     

Food safety and residues in Australian agricultural produce

SUMMARY A brief history of food safety in Australia in the context of the development of scientific knowledge is presented. Australia's food and food commodity residue and contamination surveillance and monitoring programs are outlined. Although chemical residues are perceived as a major health risk by the general community, the risk of food causing illness or death because of chemical residues is low. The major threat to human health from food is microbiological contamination, in terms of deaths, sickness and economic loss. The emerging influences in food safety are scientific and technical developments, deregulation, social and demographic factors, and the media. The risk of disruption of domestic and export markets by food safety issues is considerable. The emergence of international standards for food production and processing will enable commercial contractual arrangements to minimise the frequency of disruptive food safety incidents.     

气相色谱法测定禽蛋中有机氯农药和多氯联苯残留量

建立了同时测定禽蛋中14种有机氯农药(OCPs)和7种多氯联苯(PCBs)的气相色谱法。样品用乙腈超声提取,浓硫酸净化,气相色谱法测定,外标法定量。21种待测化合物在5～200μg/L时线性关系良好,方法定量限为0.3～0.7μg/kg,在5、20、100μg/kg三个加标水平下,鸡蛋空白样品的平均加标回收率为75.1%～103.8%,相对标准偏差为1.41%～6.64%。本法简便、快速、准确、成本低廉,适用于禽蛋中多种有机氯农药和多氯联苯的快速筛查。