Spanish researchers have found small traces of veterinary drugs in milk powder and in meat-based baby food -- residues of medications given to livestock – and developed a system to analyze them quickly and precisely.
Scientists from the University of Almería noted small amounts of such antibiotics as tilmicosine and antiparasitic drugs like levamisole are given to livestock to keep them healthy, but they can turn up in minute levels in food and even baby food preparations.
"The concentrations detected have been generally very low. On one hand, this suggests they are not worrying amounts, on the other hand, it shows the need to control these products to guarantee food safety," said Antonia Garrido, who led the study published in the journal Food Chemistry.
Garrido said his team has developed a new method to detect drugs in baby food.
Using the new testing method allowed researchers to analyze 12 meat products (cow, pig and poultry) and nine milk powder samples. In total, they found five veterinary drugs in milk powder and 10 in meat products.