Performance characteristics of an analytical procedure for determining chloramphenicol residues in muscle tissue by gas chromatography-electron capture detection

Validation of an analytical method for determining chloramphenicol residues in muscle tissue by gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD) was performed according to the latest European Union criteria for the analysis of veterinary drugs in food, laid down by Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. The method using the meta isomer of chloramphenicol as an internal standard proved to be very selective, specific to other related phenicols and accurate to within +3.6% at a concentration level of 8.9 mu g/kg, as present in the certified reference material available. The correlation coefficient of the calibration curve was 0.9991. At all three fortification levels studied (0.3, 0.45 and 0.6 mu g/kg), repeatability and intra-laboratory reproducibility were < 8 and <= 59%, respectively. The decision limit (CC alpha) and detection capability (CC beta) were 0.07 and 0.12 mu g/kg, respectively. The validation results and the results of participation in an international inter-laboratory proficiency test indicate that the method presented is completely suited for regulatory control to screen and quantify chloramphenicol residues in various muscle tissues on a routine basis. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.