Fera’s food safety experts undertake veterinary medicine screening using proven testing methods to highlight the levels of thyrostats present within a range of food samples. Thyrostats inhibit the production of thyroid hormones, with the resulting side effect of this being weight gain, mainly due to increased water absorption and retention.

The use of thyrostats is banned in the EU Council directive 96/22/EC (29th April 1996), states: “member states shall prohibit the administering to a farm or aquaculture animal, by any means whatsoever, of substances having a thyrostatic action”. Fera’s screening procedures can provide the evidence required by regulators to verify that thyrostats are not being used and your food products are compliant with regulations.

Within this screen for thyrostats we include: 2-Thiouracil, 6-Methyl-2-thiouracil, 6-Phenyl-2-thiouracil, 6-Propyl-2-thiouracil, and Methimazole (Tapazole). Urine screening is undertaken for meat producing animals including cattle, sheep, and pigs. Results are typically returned within 10 working days after our scientists have received your sample.

The methods employed at our state-of-the-art suite have been validated in accordance with the principles set out in Commission Decision 2002/657/EC. For this test, the analytical method used at Fera is based on liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS), and analysis is accredited to ISO17025 by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS).

Confirmatory Analysis

Confirmatory analysis, where required, will be at the same value as the analysis performed. Fera will contact you beforehand to establish if the additional analysis is required. The delivery time for confirmatory results will be 10 working days from your instruction to proceed.