After a brief introduction into the field of veterinary drugs and growth-promoting
agents, the most important EU regulations and directives for the inspection of food-producing
animals and animal products regarding the residue control of these substances are
presented and discussed. Main attention in the review is on the methods of analysis
in use today for the most important classes of veterinary drugs and growth-promoting
agents viz. anthelmintics, antibiotics, coccidiostats, hormones, beta-agonists and
tranquillizers. Emphasis is given to the potential, and limitations, of state-of-the-art
analytical procedures and their performance characteristics. The most obvious conclusion
is that, today (reversed-phase) liquid chromatography combined with tandem mass spectrometric
detection--either triple-quadrupole or ion-trap multi-stage--is the preferred technique
in a large majority of all cases. In the field of sample treatment, the combined use
of liquid extraction--i.e., liquid partitioning or liquid-liquid extraction--and liquid-solid
extraction--primary on- or off-line solid-phase extraction--is most popular. Finally,
while the analytical tools required to meet the demands typically formulated by governments
and international organizations today, generally speaking are available, several problems
still do exist. To quote three examples, problems are encountered in the area of simultaneously
extracting and pre-treating groups of analytes with mutually widely different polarities,
with regard to identification-point--based confirmation of analyte identity, and regarding
quantification errors caused by ion-suppression effects. Improving the speed of analysis
is another aspect that should, and will, receive dedicated interest in the near future.