Official controls for Corticosteroids: urine, liver but also muscle.

Corticosteroids and specifically synthetic glucocorticoids (e.g. dexamethasone, betamethasone, prednisolone …) are molecules widely used in veterinary clinical practice.

The illicit use of synthetic corticosteroids as growth promoters is a fairly common practice in beef cattle breeding. These drugs can be administered individually, or in combination with other unauthorized molecules (e.g. sex hormones and beta-agonists). The aim is to exploit the synergistic effects between the different drugs and improve the production performances of the animals.

However, the use of these compounds poses a serious problem for the health of consumers: the possible accumulation of veterinary drug residues in the edible organs of the bovine and its meat, has been defined as potentially dangerous. Possible side effects include the immunosuppressive action and the alterations of the glucose metabolism, with the relative increase of the glycaemia and the insulin resistance.

Current legislation in European Union

The use of hormones and steroid drugs for therapeutic purposes in individual animals, for example for the treatment of fertility-related disorders, is permitted but strictly regulated by specific regulations. These require that a certain period of time must elapse from treatment before the animal is considered suitable for slaughter. All this has the aim of minimizing the presence of any residues in food of animal origin intended for human consumption.
Any use of corticosteroids outside the regular prescription by the veterinarian and the consequent registration in the appropriate register is defined as illicit treatment.
Current legislation provides for the execution of systematic investigations, both in the farm and in the slaughterhouse, aimed at identifying the improper use of corticosteroids as growth promoting agents.

Control mechanism

The European Union has always tried to maintain high standards regarding food safety.
Over the years, the official controls carried out in the various Member States have highlighted the presence of glycocorticosteroids in feed, in the injection sites, in the urine and in the organs, especially in beef cattle.

For EU member states, official investigations are carried out according to the steps of a National Residue Plan, prepared on an annual basis, which indicates the samples to be analysed (urine, liver and sometimes muscle, as is the case of Italy).

Need for innovation

In recent years, in order to fight the illicit use of these drugs, a growing demand has emerged from the market for an innovative method for the detection of corticosteroids (or their effects) even at low doses or in matrices different from those traditionally used (e.g. milk, muscle, water, feed) to accompany official controls.
Our Research & Development team set to work with the aim of satisfying the new needs coming from the market, we are therefore very proud to be able to announce that in 2024 the new PT for the research of corticosteroids in muscle will be available (code M4502)!

Our current offers

Currently in our 2024-2025 catalog you can find the PTs for the search for corticosteroids in 3 different matrices: urine, liver and muscle.

NEWS 2024: PT for the research of Corticosteroids
in bovine muscle (code M4502) – Round of November 2024

• Deadline for online order: September 30th 2024
• Shipping date: November 18th 2024
• Test Material: bovine muscle, 20g for confirmatory method or 10g for screening method (in case the provided volume is not enough, it is possible to order additional material at a reduced price) .
• Molecules under study: betamethasone, dexamethasone, flumethasone, prednisolone, methylprednisolone, prednisone, beclomethasone, triamcinolone, triamcinolone acetonide. The Test Material may contain one or more of the molecules under study. It is not mandatory to search for all the analytes under study, you will receive the evaluation only for the molecules actually searched.
• Indicative concentrations: < 5ppb
• Niche PT: Test Veritas is specialized in organizing niche PTs that are difficult to find on the market!
• The price is only 345,00€ for confirmatory methods and 309,00€ for screening methods