EU legislation demands that residues of xenobiotics used in poultry production to prevent and treat disease are monitored. However, there is strong evidence that some coccidiostat residues are present in meat and the consumer is not being given adequate protection. Despite widespread use of these drugs, and the potential for adverse effects, only few National Reference Laboratories have the ability to test for their presence in food.

The objective of the EU 5th Framework research program Poultry-check is to provide the scientific community with a total solution for the control of selected coccidiostats used in poultry production. A simple, user friendly and automated immunoassay system is developed for efficient screening of samples and reliable methods are developed for the confirmatory analysis step.

For further information contact Project Coordinator, Prof. Timo Lövgren, Biotechnology/University of Turku
(phone +358 (0)2 333 8051 email: timo.lovgren@utu.fi)