Application of the CEN/ISO Standard for Phytase Activity Measurements to a New Phytase Product: Determination of a Robust Conversion Factor by an Interlaboratory Study for Screening Feed Samples.

Background: Phytase-based preparations are important feed additives currently authorised in the European Union (EU). The European Standard (EN) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standard 30024 describes a harmonized method for the determination of phytase activity and is fit-for-purpose for official control of a group of phytase products. However, it is not suitable for the determination of the phytase activity of a new feed additive encoded as 4a16 in the EU Register of Feed Additives, to which a slightly different phytase activity definition has been attributed. Objective: To establish a robust conversion factor to support official control laboratories that apply the EN ISO method when monitoring feed products containing 4a16. Methods: The phytase activity of test materials was determined by the participants using the EN ISO and/or the "applicant" methods. Results: Robust relative SDs for repeatability and for reproducibility of the methods applied for the determination of the phytase activity in the materials containing the 4a16 feed additive ranged from 2.6 to 22% (EN ISO method) and from 2.4 to 39% (applicant method). Conclusions: The data obtained confirmed the performance characteristics published for other phytase-based feeds in the related standard methods. These results allowed us to estimate a factor of 2.68 to convert phytase activities measured with the EN ISO method into the enzyme activity measured with the applicant method. Highlights: The obtained conversion factor will allow EU official laboratories to screen feed samples supplemented with the 4a16 phytase by applying EN ISO Standard 30024.

A review of the work of the EU Reference Laboratory supporting the authorisation process of feed additives in the EU. [corrected].

This paper describes the operation of the European Union Reference Laboratory for Feed Additives (EURL) and its role in the authorisation procedure of feed additives in the European Union. Feed additives are authorised according to Regulation (EC) No. 1831/2003, which introduced a completely revised authorisation procedure and also established the EURL. The regulations authorising feed additives contain conditions of use such as legal limits of the feed additives, which require the availability of a suitable method of analysis for official control purposes under real world conditions. It is the task of the EURL to evaluate the suitability of analytical methods as proposed by the industry for this purpose. Moreover, the paper shows that one of the major challenges is the huge variety of the methodology applied in feed additive analysis, thus requiring expertise in quite different analytical areas. In order to cope with this challenge, the EURL is supported by a network of national reference laboratories (NRLs) and only the merged knowledge of all NRLs allows for a scientifically sound assessment of the analytical methods.

Interlaboratory comparison of an analytical method for the determination of semduramicin in poultry feed at the authorized level using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to postcolumn derivatization and spectrophotometric detection.

The performance characteristics of a method based on HPLC with postcolumn derivatization and spectrophotometric detection for the quantification of semduramicin in poultry feedingstuffs have been determined via a collaborative study. Semduramicin is a feed additive that is authorized for fattening chickens within the European Union at a minimum and maximum content of 20 and 25 mg/kg in feedingstuffs, respectively. The target concentration of semduramicin in the test samples ranged from 11.5 to 45.0 mg/kg. The study has been conducted with two different types of test material, namely, feedingstuff samples that have been previously ground in our laboratory and pelleted feedingstuffs. In the latter case, the laboratories participating in the study had to grind the samples prior to analysis. The obtained RSD for repeatability (RSD(r)) ranged from 2 to 10% for the ground materials, and from 2 and 7% for the pelleted materials. The RSD for reproducibility (RSDR) varied between 11 and 16% for the ground materials, and between 12 and 15% for the pelleted materials. These data indicated that grinding as an additional step in the analytical procedure did not influence the precision profile of the method. In addition, the HorRat values for all test materials were below or equal to 1.5, thus demonstrating that the obtained precision data were acceptable for the purpose of the method. Furthermore, an estimation of trueness based on statistical treatment of the results reported from the laboratories for spiked samples revealed acceptable mean recovery values of 88 +/- 4%. Based on the obtained performance profile, the method can be considered fully validated and transferable to control laboratories to be used within the framework of official control.

Sample preparation strategy for the simultaneous determination of macrolide antibiotics in animal feedingstuffs by liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD).

A novel and suitable clean-up method that allows, for the first time, the simultaneous determination of a rather large number of macrolide antibiotics (erythromycin, rosamicin, spiramycin, tylosin, kitasamycin and josamycin in feedingstuffs by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) is presented in this work. The effectiveness of the developed clean-up method allows the quantification of the target macrolides in poultry feed using standard calibration curves instead of matrix matched standards, which overcomes the general problem of finding representative blanks. Furthermore an additional back extraction included in the sample preparation procedure allows the determination of an additional macrolide (oleandomycin) with detection limits, expressed as apparent concentration in poultry feed, ranging from 0.04 to 0.22 mg kg(-1) and relative standard deviation values ranging from 3.6 to 10.1% depending on the target analyte. Moreover, this additional step has been proven to enlarge the scope of the method by the extension of its applicability, at the target level of concentration, to other animal feedingstuffs such as pig and cattle. The analysis of real feedingstuffs containing macrolides demonstrated the fitness for purpose of the whole analytical procedure as well as a good fitting between real and spiked samples. The proposed methods appeared therefore as a sound alternative in the frame of control (e.g. for post-screening purposes) and/or monitoring surveillance programmes at the target level of 1.0 mg kg(-1) established according to the reported lowest dosage of additive needed to lead a growth promoting effect.

Determination of macrolide antibiotics in porcine and bovine urine by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to coulometric detection.

A high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled to coulometric detection has been applied for the determination, in a single run, of up to eight macrolide antibiotics (erythromycin [ERY], tylosin [TYL], tilmicosin [TILM], spiramycin 2 [SPI 2], spiramycin 3 [SPI 3], josamycin [JOS], kitasamycin [KIT], and rosamicin [ROS]) in spiked porcine and bovine urine. Quantification was performed using matrix-matched calibration with roxithromycin (ROX) as the internal standard. The detection limits for each drug were below 3.5 ng injected (equivalent to an initial concentration below 0.07 mg L(-1)) for porcine urine and below 5 ng injected (equivalent to an initial concentration below 0.10 mg L(-1)) for bovine urine. Recoveries from urine samples spiked at three different concentrations within the linear range were not significantly dependent on concentration. The entire procedure provides average macrolide recoveries ranging from 69.7 to 96.6% for bovine urine and from 75.5 and 96.1% for porcine urine.

Comparative study of coulometric and amperometric detection for the determination of macrolides in human urine using high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method using chromatographic conditions optimised in a previous work was applied for the separation of three macrolide antibiotics roxithromycin (Rox), oleandomycin (Ole) and rosamicin (Ros) and further determination of two of them, roxithromycin (Rox) and oleandomycin (Ole), in human urine samples. A comparative study of the behaviour of these macrolides under the two types of electrochemical detection (EC) widely coupled with HPLC, that is coulometric (EC-C) and amperometric (EC-A), was carried out by applying the same multiresidue method. From the assays performed using both detectors the comparison was made taking relevant criteria such as detection limits, linearity, recovery and precision values into account. As a result of this comparison, the coulometric detector appears slightly more suitable than the amperometric one for macrolide analysis.