Multi-residue methods for confirmatory determination of antibiotics in milk

The prevalent use of antibiotics, e.g. sulphonamides, tetracyclines, beta-lactams, macrolides, aminoglycosides, etc., in dairy farming to prevent and treat microbial infections e.g. mastitis, can be a potential source of veterinary drug residues in milk. Antibiotic residues constitute a risk to human health, since they can cause allergic reactions in hypersensitive individuals or they may lead to the appearance of drug-resistant bacteria. Analysis of these residues plays a key role in ensuring food safety. Regulatory agencies in the European Union and in other countries have established maximum residue limits and requirements concerning the performance of analytical methods and the interpretation of the results. This review describes the state of the art in the analytical strategies concerning the multi-class as well as the multi-residue analysis of antibiotics in milk. Since milk is a complex matrix due to its high protein and fat content, which often interfere in analytical procedures, special focus has been placed on sample preparation: extraction and clean-up. Confirmation of antibiotic residues according to European Decision 657/2002/EC has been also discussed.