The Residues Section`s main focus  is consumer food safety. This section has a mandate to monitor the levels of residues of veterinary drugs and hormones, and environmental contaminants (Pesticides and heavy metals) meat and milk with empahis on beef and ostrich meat eligible for export.

Chemical residues may be found in animal tissues, milk, following administration of veterinary drugs, application of pesticides to animals or the consumption of stock feeds previously treated with agro-chemicals. Substances when found in the meat consumed by the human beings can be toxic, carcinogenic and or lethal when present in high concentrations. Antibiotics and or their products of metabolism for example, can accumulate in the human tissues over time resulting development of resistance to such antibiotics when prescribed. This can have dire consequences.

The  legal instrument that controls the use of these hormones and growth promoters is the Diseases of Animals (Prohibition of Use of Anabolic Hormones and Thyrostatic Substances) Regulations, 1987 and Amended in 2007. These reguations list the prohibited items and define how the animals subjected to such substances should be treated and disposed off.

 Examples of veterinary drugs tested in this section include; 

Stilbenes   

Resorcyclic Acid Lactones i.e Zeranol and Taleranol 

Thyrostatic Substances and their derivatives 

Synthetic Steroids i.e Trenblone,Testosterone and Medroxyprogesterone  

Βeta – agonists: Clenbuterol, Salbutamol

2. Veterinary Drugs 

Anthelmentics i.e dewormers 

Pyrethroids: Deltamethrin, Permethrin, Cypermethrin and Flumethrin 

Sedatives: Xylazine, Chlorpromazine, Propionyl-promazine,

Antibacterials: Penicillins, Tetracyclines, Sulphonimides, Quinolones,        Aminoglycocides, Cephalosporins,  Lincosamides and Macrolides.

Avermectins: Doramectin, Ivermactins, Moxidectin

Pesticides i.e. Organophosphorus and Organochlorinated compounds

PCB’s (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)

Heavy metals e.g. Lead, Cadmium Mercury, Copper etc 

4. Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) and animal feeds

Meat and Bone Meal (MBM) of Animal origin is prohibited to be fed to certain specified livestock in Botswana and the Diseases of Animals (Stock Feed) Regulations, 2004 controls the manufacture, labelling, retailing and feeding  of MBM. This regulations also affects the feeding of animal protein (swill/ kitchen left overs) to animals such as pigs.

Analytical Equipment

Various analytical equipment are used to detect specific substances in minute quantities in meat product and livestock feed. These include Gas Chromatograph – Mass Spectrophotometer for growth stimulants & pesticides, High Performance Liquid Chromatograph for antibiotics, Atomic  Absorption Spectro photometer for heavy metals, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay for some growth stimulants and antibiotics.

 Collaboration in testing residues in meats is currently with recognised laboratories in the United Kingdom. This is necessitated by demand for more tests,the need to collaborate and the requirements of importing countries demanding higher sensetivities in analysis of which some other available laboratory equipment cannot perfor to that level.

What are the costs to the customer?

 These are the most expensive of all costs and the samples have to be specially prepared before the lab can process them. Special care should be observed in preservation and delivery times for the samples to have meaningful results.