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Background:
Zeranol is a non-steroidal oestrogenic growth promoter. It increases
liveweight gain in food animals following implantation. The use
of zeranol for growth promotion in food animals was banned in
the EU in 1985. All Member States have been required, since 1986,
to establish National Surveillance Schemes to monitor animals
for possible abuse of banned substances, including zeranol. The
ability of Member States to implement the terms of Council Directive
96/23/EEC has been compromised by recent reports from New Zealand,
and elsewhere, showing that zeranol occurs naturally in urine
and bile taken from cattle and sheep. The New Zealand study suggested
that naturally occurring Fusarium spp. toxins could be
metabolised to zeranol. Enforcement of the ban on zeranol has
been further compromised by similar reports of naturally occurring
zeranol from several National and Community Reference Laboratories
in the EU. These findings prevent the smooth implementation of
Council Directive 96/23/EEC because:
1. All current immunochemical screening tests exhibit cross-reactivity
to a greater or lesser extent with zearalenone, a-zearalenol and
ß-zearalenol - the three principal toxins formed by the
Fusarium spp. fungi. These screening assays will therefore
show "positive" results in all samples containing these
toxins, irrespective of whether zeranol itself is actually present
or not.
2. Confirmatory analysis will prove whether zeranol is present
or not. But, GC-MS will not prove whether it is natural in origin.
3. There are no criteria to differentiate zeranol abuse from contamination
in meat from 3rd country imports into the EU.
The
increasing financial penalties being imposed on offending producers
throughout the EU as a result of the implementation of Council
Directive 96/23/EEC makes it essential that a proper decision
is reached by competent national authorities.
Objectives:
The central objective of this project is to improve reagents and
procedures for the technical implementation of Community policy
on the prohibition of the use of zeranol as an anabolic agent
in food animal production.
Description:
This project directly addresses Objective 4.22 of the workprogramme.
It will answer the three problems posed above by:
1. The development of rapid, specific immunochemical screening
tests that will specifically and separately detect and quantify
zeranol and a-zearalenol in a sample;
2. Identifying those food species that are capable of metabolising
Fusarium spp. toxins to zeranol;
3. The provision of quantitative criteria to differentiate between
zeranol abuse and natural environmental contamination in susceptible
species by measurement of concentrations of zeranol and the Fusarium
spp. toxins in body fluids; and
4. The provision of quantitative criteria to differentiate between
zeranol abuse and natural environmental contamination with zeranol
by measurement of concentrations of zeranol and the Fusarium
spp. toxins in tissues, facilitating monitoring of 3rd country
imports into the EU.
Current
situation/results:
Dry chemistry time-resolved fluorescence immunoassays (TRFIAs)
for zeranol and a-zearalenol have now been developed and validated.
These have both the specificity and sensitivity required by this
project. The assays have been transferred to three other laboratories
within the consortium. These laboratories have performed their
own validation on the assays and have conducted a blind Ring Test
of urine samples spiked with combinations of zeranol, a-zearalenol
or Fusarium spp. toxins.
Chemical methods for the detection of zeranol and the Fusarium
spp. toxins have been developed. These will be used to measure
the concentration of zeranol and the Fusarium spp. toxins
present in all samples that screen positive, using the TRFIAs,
in a survey of animal urine samples due to start shortly in four
Member States. Parallel studies measuring the stability of zeranol
and the Fusarium spp. toxins in a range of biological matrices
are nearing completion.
Coordinator
Glenn
Kennedy
Veterinary Sciences Division
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
UK-Belfast
Tel: +44 2890 52 56 51
Fax: +44 2890 52 56 26
Email: glenn.kennedy@dardni.gov.uk
Participants
- Vasilis VOZIKIS
National Agricultural Research Foundation
26th October Street 80
GR-Thessaloniki
Tel: +30 31 55 20 24
Fax: +30 31 55 40 22
E-mail: VETRESI@the.forthnet.gr
- Leendert A. VAN GINKEL
National Institute of Public Health and the Environment
Antonie Van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9
NL-3721 Bilthoven 1
Tel: +31 30 274 27 46
Fax: +31 30 274 44 03
E-mail leen.van.ginkel@rivm.nl
- Luisa Maria RIBEIRO
Laboratorio Nacional de Investigacao Veterinaria
Estrada De Benfica 701
P-1500 Lisboa
Tel: +351 21 711 53 30
Fax: +351 21 711 53 84
E-mail: luisaribeiro@yahoo.com
- Gunnel ALFREDSSON
The National Swedish Food Administration
S-751 26 Uppsala
Tel: +46 18 17 56 12
Fax: +46 18 10 58 48
E-mail: gual@slv.se
- Timo LÖVGREN
University of Turku
Department of Biotechnology
Biocity 6A
FIN-20520 Turku
Tel: +358 2 333 80 51
Fax: +358 2 333 80 50
E-mail: timo.lovgren@utu.fi
- Antti IITIA
InnoTrac Diagnostics Oy
Biocity 7A
FIN-20520 Turku
Tel: +358 2 333 80 87
Fax: +358 2 333 80 50
E-mail: antti.iitia@InnoTrac.fi
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