ABSTRACT
Since the main objectives of the regulatory control of residues of veterinary drugs are to ensure a safe and wholesome food supply and to take regulatory action after identification of adulterated products, analysts are usually challenged to analyze, often on a routine basis, for a wide range of physicochemically and structurally highly different compounds, some of which may be used illegally or entered unexpectedly the food chain via contamination of animal feeds. This challenge may be better comprehended considering the number of the veterinary drugs currently available in the market. Several hundred active veterinary drugs are commercially available, and at least 75 of them are being used more or less extensively in food-producing animals.
