Premi®Test Makes The Food Chain Safer
Pushing back the testing for antibiotics to animal feed
DSM Premi®Test, a start-up of DSM Venturing & Business Development, has extended the application of its antibiotic residue-screening test that is used to detect anti-microbial substances in fresh meat, fish, eggs and animal urine. Premi®Test can now also be applied to animal feed and is thus an important component in the food chain for the benefit of consumers.
Since its launch in 1999, DSM’s Premi®Test has given farmers, breeders and veterinarians a fast, easy, inexpensive and reliable means of testing livestock before they are sent to the abattoir. This has given the industry a valuable tool for guaranteeing antibiotic-tested meat throughout the supply chain. Now DSM scientists have developed Premi®Test for animal feed, so that it can also be tested for anti-microbial substances before being fed to livestock, especially pigs and poultry.
The test involves the same type of ampoules that are currently used with Premi®Test by the meat industry. “Pushing back the testing for antibiotics to the animal-feed stage itself is an essential step towards ensuring protection of the food chain,” says DSM spokesperson, Françoise de Goeijen, Business Manager Premi®Test. “It is not easy to find new and reliable methods for analysis that give consistent results. The presence of natural inhibiting substances in feed complicates the analyses and interferes with test results. By working together with DSM’s Food & Nutritional Products scientists on food analytical methods, we have established a specific protocol that enables PremiâTest to be applied for the detection of antibiotic residues in animal feed.”
Premi®Test is extremely fast and sensitive and detects a large number of antibiotic residues. The latest test covers 8 different types of antibiotics and produces reliable results within 4 hours, including a 10-minute pre-incubation stage. This contrasts greatly with previous testing methods, which required overnight incubation. The latest PremiâTest kits are now available throughout the world.
About Premi®Test
On the market since 1999, DSM’s Premi®Test is used to prevent any meat containing antibiotic residue in excess of the legal limits from entering the food chain. This fast, easy-to-use and cost-effective test detects a large number of the most widely used antibiotic substances in meat, fish, eggs and now also animal urine. The exact link between antibiotic levels in urine and in meat may vary per species and is subject to further research. However, thanks to Premi®Test’s urine pre-treatment stage, the problem of false positive results is greatly reduced. Premi®Test gives a reliable, clearly indicated result within just four hours. The test kit is supplied in 4 polystyrene boxes of each 25 ampoules. For more information, visit www.premitest.com.
DSM Venturing & Business Development
Premitest is one of the start-ups in DSM’s Venturing & Business Development business group’s portfolio. In close cooperation with the other DSM business groups, DSM Venturing & Business Development stimulates innovation, new business and profitability enhancement throughout DSM. To this end, the group is engaged in a wide range of activities: identifying and encouraging promising innovations, both inside and outside the company; generating sustainable, profitable DSM business for the future and identifying, acquiring and selling intellectual property and technologies. For more information, visit www.dsm.com/dvbd.
Source: DSM Venturing & Business Development