Eurofins develops High-Resolution LC-MS-based veterinary drug residue screening to offer food industry broader risk protection

Eurofins Scientific (EUFI.PA), the global leader in food and feed testing, announces that it has launched a high-resolution LC-MS-based screening method for around 100 antibiotics and antiparasitics in meat and fish, to provide broader protection across the food chain from risk of contamination.

In response to growing concerns over potential risk of contamination from veterinary drug residues following the horsemeat scandal in Europe and ongoing discussions on increasing antibiotic resistances, Eurofins' new screening method offers its customers unique opportunities and improved cost efficiency in the complex field of veterinary drug screening. Compared to conventional screening methods such as inhibitory tests, the new HR-LC-MS method¹  covers around 100 targeted substances including metabolites with high selectivity and sensitivity. With its broad substance scope and the additional newly-created spectral libraries, the method efficiently minimizes the risk of over-looking health hazards related to veterinary drugs.

Eurofins' comprehensive Risk-Orientated Veterinary Drug Testing² package includes screening and confirmatory methods for more than 250 active substances, including antibiotics, antiparasitcs, hormones, beta-agonists, endocrine disruptors and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. In addition to the new high-resolution LC-MS device, a broad range of state-of-the-art LC-MS/MS instruments as well as automated sample preparation equipment assure short turn-around-times (TAT) and high-quality, reliable analytical results. Furthermore, given that the above substances present varying degrees of relevance for risk monitoring, Eurofins' highly-trained staff offer customised analytical scopes based on animal species, country of origin and the stage of sampling within the food supply chain, according to evaluations of the European Rapid Alert Systems for Food and Feed (RASFF).

The Group's Competence Centre for Veterinary Drug Residue Testing in Hamburg has been a pioneer in developing highly sensitive methods for trace amount detection of veterinary drug residues in food and feed for more than 15 years. This expertise was demonstrated during the nitrofuran contamination in seafood and poultry in 2002, and triphenylmethane contamination in fish dye in 2005 in Europe and the recent horse meat scandal³.

1 Eurofins Risk-orientated Veterinary Drug Testing

2 Eurofins Press Release dated 15 February 2013

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Notes for the editor:

Eurofins - a global leader in bio-analysis

Eurofins Scientific is the world leader in food and pharmaceutical products testing. It is also number one in the world in the field of environmental laboratory services and one of the global market leaders in agroscience, genomics, discovery pharmacology and central laboratory services.

With over 14,000 staff in more than 180 laboratories across 35 countries, Eurofins offers a portfolio of over 100,000 reliable analytical methods for evaluating the safety, identity, composition, authenticity, origin and purity of biological substances and products. The Group provides its customers with high-quality services, accurate results in time and expert advice by its highly qualified staff.

Eurofins is committed to pursuing its dynamic growth strategy by expanding both its technology portfolio and its geographic reach. Through R&D and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in the field of biotechnology and analytical chemistry to offer its clients unique analytical solutions and the most comprehensive range of testing methods.

As one of the most innovative and quality oriented international players in its industry, Eurofins is ideally positioned to support its clients' increasingly stringent quality and safety standards and the expanding demands of regulatory authorities around the world.

The shares of Eurofins Scientific are listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris Stock Exchange (ISIN FR0000038259, Reuters EUFI.PA, Bloomberg ERF FP).

Important disclaimer:

This press release contains forward-looking statements and estimates that involve risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements and estimates contained herein represent the judgement of Eurofins Scientific’ management as of the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees for future performance, and the forward-looking events discussed in this release may not occur. Eurofins Scientific disclaims any intent or obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements and estimates. All statements and estimates are made based on the data available to the Company as of the date of publication, but no guarantee can be made as to their validity.