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Read MoreCommodities of Animal Origin
The world is colorful, has many colors and shapes, smells and tastes. The average consumer cannot know exactly what he or she comes into contact with in everyday life. And that also goes for Coomodities of animal origin. Before a product is even brought close to a market, it should definitely be put through its paces, and not just in terms of marketability. The easiest way leads to us – we check your samples for residues according to your specification and the applicable legal regulations.
Foods of animal origin are prone to spoilage processes – GALAB monitors your products to assess compliance with microbiological requirements. This is of significant importance, since consumers are aware of the risks regarding residues of contaminants. Whether it is dioxins in egg or antibiotics in prawns – use our broad expertise in residue analysis!
Egg Testing
Contamination and Carry-over
Back in 2008, the German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) pointed out residues of coccidiostats in eggs in a publication regarding the national residue monitoring plan. The application of coccidiostats for laying hens is not allowed. In poultry farming coccidiostats are administered against intestinal parasites. These findings in eggs are due to unavoidable carry-over from the feed production. In the EU council directive 124/2009 new maximum limits for coccidiostats were already specified. Since the topic is still important today, we at GALAB follow the latest developments and continuously examine products from this production area.
Residues
Nicotine residues in eggs are, according to the German BVL ,a result of an application of a non-authorised preparation containing nicotine for pest control. Eggs containing residues of nicotine must not be placed on the market.
Contaminants
The BVL report stated that organochlorine compounds (PCB, dioxins) are ubiquitous in the environment and present in virtually every single egg. These compounds are ingested with feed and accumulate in the fat tissue of animals and eggs respectively. According to results of the national residue monitoring plan more than a decade ago eggs from free range animals had a higher contamination with dioxins than eggs from cage reared animals or eggs produced according to the EU directive for organic products.
Fish and Crustaceans Testing
Unauthorised Veterinary Drugs
Application of Chloramphenicol (CAP) and nitrofuranes is forbidden according to EU regulation 2377/90 Annex IV. However, in Asian aquacultures these veterinary drugs have still been applied and detected in the aftermath as various publications showed.
NRKP2008 Focuses on Malachite Green
According to BVL (German Federal Office for Consumer Protection and Food Safety) Malachite green was yet again detected more frequently in aquaculture (trout, carp). Malachite green is effective against certain parasites and fungal diseases of fish, but application in the EU is not allowed for food producing fish.
Minor Toxicity of Organic Arsenic Compounds
Marine organisms accumulate arsenic from sea water. Toxic inorganic arsenic is metabolised to organic arsenic compounds. According to scientific publications these are considered non-toxic. When analysing fish and fish oil for total arsenic it is therefore important to consider the form of arsenic present.
Meat Products Testing
Results of the National Residue Monitoring Plan
In 2011 the fraction of samples containing a contamination above the residue limit or containing non-authorised substances amounted to 0.56% (compare 2010: 0.73%; 2009: 0.45%).
Confirmatory Analyses
Positive residue findings are confirmed qualitatively and quantitatively by the German state laboratories using a so called “confirmatory method”. A mass spectrometric method is applied identifying and determining the analytes.
At Eye Level
GALAB has validated all its methods for the determination of veterinary drugs according to the decision of the European Commisssion 2002/657/EC (cc-alpha, cc-beta). We offer a quality of analyses at eye level with the state authorities.
Table 1: Development of positive residues
(Source: Jahresbericht zum Nationalen Rückstandskontrollplan
(NRKP) 2011; www.bvl.bund.de/nrkp)
| 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| Meat/Product | in % | ||
| Beef | 0.39 | 0.55 | 0.51 |
| Pork | 0.41 | 0.93 | 0.56 |
| Sheep | 1.64 | 0.33 | 1.41 |
| Horses | 1.04 | 3.42 | 5.88 |
| Hares | – | – | – |
| Game | 14.22 | 12.68 | 19.40 |
| Poultry | 0.04 | 0.09 | 0.07 |
| Aquaculture | 1.44 | 2.59 | 0.36 |
| Milk | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Eggs | 1.74 | 0.13 | 0.89 |
| Honey | 1.27 | 3.23 | 2.67 |
Milk, Diary Products and Milk Powder Testing
Oligosaccarides
Human milk and cows’ milk differ in their content of oligosaccharides. In human milk the oligosaccharides are present mainly in the free form, in cows’ milk they are mainly bound to proteins. Oligosaccharides are important for the development of the human intestinal flora (prebiotics). Oligosaccharides containing sialic acid furthermore encourage the development of the central nervous system.
Sialic Acid Assay for Milk Powder
Especially for early childhood development sialic acid containing carbohydrates are important. With the GlycoImage-Sialic Acid Assay you can determine the sialic acid activity of your milk powder compared to a reference standard (e.g. human milk or cows’ milk). Sialic acid is easily split off during the processing of milk powder.
Honey TestingMilk, Diary Products and Milk Powder Testing
Honey is considered a natural and healthy food. It mainly consists of various sugars (fructose, glucose, saccharose, maltose) and some water. The high content of sugar is a reason for the long shelf life of honey. Storage at higher temperature leads to the synthesis of Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a degradation product of many sugars. HMF serves as an important indicator for the quality of honey.
Residues in honey are a result of an application of veterinary drugs and insecticides. Chloramphenicol (CAP) and nitrofuranes were detected in Asian honeys. They are not authorised in Europe and contaminated honey is not marketable.
Application and Analytical Methods
Profile Egg and Egg Products
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GALAB Laboratories GmbH
Am Schleusengraben 7
21029 Hamburg
Germany
Contact
Thank you for your interest in GALAB Laboratories.
Advisory Service
Get in touch with us.
GALAB Laboratories GmbH
Am Schleusengraben 7
21029 Hamburg
Germany
Contact
Thank you for your interest in GALAB Laboratories.