A comparison of the FAST, Premi® and KIS™ tests for screening antibiotic residues in beef kidney juice and serum

Three microbial inhibition-based screening methods, the fast antimicrobial screening test (FAST), the Premi (R) test, and the kidney inhibition swab (KIS (TM)) test, were evaluated using penicillin G, sulfadimethoxine, oxytetracyline, tylosin, danofloxacin, streptomycin, neomycin, and spectinomycin at a range of fortified concentrations in beef kidney juice and beef serum. Each antibiotic was individually tested simultaneously using the different assays in replicate experiments. Detection threshold concentrations for each analyte in each screening assay were determined for the different matrices. Each assay gave a different detectability profile for the different antibiotics, with the largest differences related to neomycin, which was more sensitively detected by the FAST, and penicillin G, which was detected at lower levels by the Premi (R) and KIS (TM) tests. In addition to practical considerations, analysts can use the information presented in this study to evaluate each kit for applicability to their monitoring needs.