ABSTRACT

In the methods used widely for the determination of antibiotic residues in food product of animal origin the antibiotic-sensitivity of microorganisms is used. An advantage of microbiological methods is their high detection rate, but they are not specific. The test strains are not selectively sensitive and are inhibited by many antibiotics. False positive results of these tests may be due to the presence in tissues or milk of natural substance, e.g.enzymes or compounds of external origin - detergents or other drugs, e.g.sulphonamides. The microbiological tests - plate and tube STD and Polutest, as well as the enzymatic Penzym test, all recommended in the Polish Standards PN-91/A-86033 for milk control for the detection of antibiotic residues were compared. The authors describe the requiremants to be met by the systems of quality ensuring during determination of antibiotics and other inhibitors in milk. The requirements to be met by the methods of this determination are discussed, together with the pronciples of intralaboratory and interlaboratpry quality controls.