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Chemistry Laboratory Guidebook
This Chemistry Laboratory Guidebook contains test methods used by FSIS Laboratories to support the Agency's inspection program, ensuring that meat, poultry, and egg products are safe, wholesome and accurately labeled.

The Guidebook contains methods for the analysis of food composition, food additives, nutrients, veterinary drug and pesticide residues. Methods are designed to provide analysts with written documentation to facilitate training, performance, quality assessment, and interpretation of data.

The contents of this Guidebook are continuously revised and updated. Future updates will include other methods previously published in the printed version of the Guidebook, which is no longer available for distribution.
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Methods Available On This Site:

Method Number Method Title
F01 Moisture Determination (Aug 10, 2009; PDF Only)
F02 Protein Determination by Combustion (Jul 27, 2009; PDF Only)
F03 Determination of Fat (Aug 10, 2009; PDF Only)
F04 Determination of Salt (Jul 27, 2009; PDF Only)
F05 Determination of Phosphate (Aug 10, 2009; PDF Only)
F06 Internal Cooking Temperature (May 1993; PDF Only)
F07 Internal Cooking Temperature/Coagulation (May 1993; PDF Only)
I01 Determination of Arsenic by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (Apr 2, 2010; PDF Only)
I02a Calcium, Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) Determination (Jan 10, 2003; PDF Only)
I02b Calcium, Tritimetric Determination (May 1993; PDF Only)
I03 Determination of Metals by ICP-MS (Aug 24, 2012; PDF Only)
I04 Detection of Thallium, Arsenic, and Mercury using ICP-AES (Dec 11, 2006; PDF Only)
I05a Determination of Mercury by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
I05b Determination of Mercury by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (May 27, 2012; PDF Only)
I06 Determination of Sulfites (Sep 5, 2006; PDF Only)
R01a Confirmation of Aminoglycosides by HPLC-MS/MS (Jun 3, 2011; PDF Only)
R01b Screening and Confirmation for Aminoglycosides by LC-MS-MS (Sep 17, 2012; PDF Only)
R02a Screening for Zeranol by ELISA (Feb 26, 2007; PDF Only)
R02b Determination and Confirmation of Diethylstilbestrol (DES) and Zeranol by GC/MS (Nov 10, 2004; PDF Only)
R03a Determination of Ivermectin, Doramectin, and Moxidectin by HPLC (Mar 28, 2011; PDF Only)
R03b Liquid Chromatography/Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometric (LC/APCI/MS) Confirmation of Ivermectin, Doramectin and Moxidectin (Mar 31, 2011; PDF Only)
R04a ELISA Screening for β-Agonist Residues in Animal Retinal Tissue (Jul 19, 2004; PDF Only)
R04b Screening and Confirmation of Beta-Agonists by HPLC/MS/MS (Jul 2, 2012; PDF Only)
R05 Determination of Ractopamine Hydrochloride by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (Jul 6, 2004; PDF Only)
R06 Screening and Confirmation of β-Lactam Antibiotics by HPLC-MS/MS (Jul 2, 2011; PDF Only)
R07a Determination of Carbadox Metabolite by GC/ECD (Mar 24, 2010; PDF Only)
R07b Confirmation of Carbadox Metabolite in Swine Liver by GC/EI Ion-trap MS (Aug 22, 2005; PDF Only)
R07c Screen of Carbadox Metabolite QCA by HPLC-MS-MS (Mar 28, 2011; PDF Only)
R08a Screening for Chloramphenicol by ELISA (Jul 23, 2012; PDF Only)
R08b Determination and Confirmation of Chloramphenicol (Oct 9, 2009; PDF Only)
R09a Cyromazine and Melamine (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R09b Determination and Confirmation of Melamine by LC/MS/MS (Ground Beef and Ready-to-Eat Products) (Dec 2, 2008; PDF Only, 1.6mb)
R10 Dexamethasone (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R11 Determination of Dipyrone-Related Residues by HPLC (Oct 25, 2004; PDF Only
R12a Determination and Confirmation of Florfenicol (Oct 12, 2010; PDF Only)
R12b Confirmation of Florfenicol by GC/MS (Aug 7, 2006; PDF Only)
R13a Screening of Flunixin Residues by ELISA (Mar 10, 2011; PDF Only)
R13b Determination of Flunixin in Cattle Liver by HPLC (Nov 4, 2002; PDF Only)
R13c Determination and Confirmation of Flunixin by HPLC/ESI-MS/MS (Jul 16, 2012; PDF Only)
R13d Confirmation of Flunixin Residues in Bovine Liver by HPLC/ESI-MS/MS (Mar 24, 2003; PDF Only)
R14 Gentamicin in Porcine Tissue by HPLC (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R15 Halofuginone (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R16 Lasalocid in Bovine Tissue (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R17 Lysergic Acid Diethylamine and Phencyclidine (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R18 Confirmation of Macrolide/Lincosamide Antibiotics by Ion Trap HPLC/MS/MS (Jul 30, 2007; PDF Only)
R19a Screen for Melengestrol Acetate in Fat Using ELISA (Feb 1, 2006; PDF Only)
R19b Determination of Melengestrol Acetate (Dec 12, 2007; PDF Only)
R19c Confirmation of Melengestrol Acetate by APCI/LC/MS3 (Mar 18, 2003; PDF Only)
R20 Monensin (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R21 Morantel and Pyrantel Drug-Related Metabolites (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R22 Narasin in Cattle and Chicken Tissues (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R23a Screen for Furazolidone and Furaltadone Metabolites by ELISA (Mar 7, 2005; PDF Only)
R23b Screening and Confirmation of Nitrofuran Metabolites by Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (Mar 9, 2010; PDF Only)
R24a Screen for Nitroimidazoles by HPLC (Dec 20, 2005; PDF Only)
R24b Confirmation of Nitroimidazoles by ESI-LC/MS/MS (Feb 7, 2005; PDF Only)
R25 Novobiocin and Virginiamycin (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R26a Screening of Phenylbutazone Residues in Bovine Kidney by ELISA (Aug 18, 2008; PDF Only)
R26b Confirmation of Phenylbutazone in Bovine Kidney by LC/ESI-MS/MS (Dec 10, 2007; PDF Only)
R27a Determination and Confirmation of Sulfonamides (Sep 25, 2009; PDF Only)
R27b Automated Robotic Extraction – TLC Analysis for Sulfonamide Residues in Animal Tissues, Eggs, and Egg Products (May 11, 2011; PDF Only)
R27c Screening of Sulfonamides by Automated Robotic Extraction and Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) (Feb 24, 2012; PDF Only)
R27d Quantitation and Confirmation of Sulfonamides by Liquid Chromatography – Tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) (May 11, 2011; PDF Only)
R28 Qualitative Identification of Tetracyclines in Tissues (Sep 19, 2011; PDF Only)
R29 Screening and Confirmation of Thyreostats by HPLC/MS/MS (Jan 22, 2009; PDF Only)
R30a Determination of Tilmicosin by HPLC/Ion Pairing (Aug 25, 2005; PDF Only)
R30b Confirmation of Tilmicosin by APCI-LC/MS3 (Mar 15, 2002; PDF Only)
R31a Determination of Trenbolone by ELISA (Nov 30, 2004; PDF Only)
R31b Confirmation of α and β-Trenbolone by GC/MS/MS (Jan 3, 2005; PDF Only)
R32 Confirmation of Fluoroquinolone Antibiotics by HPLC Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry (Jan 13, 2006; PDF Only)
R33a Screen for Halogenated Environmental Contaminants (Oct 14, 2005; PDF Only)
R33b Determination of Chlorinated Hydrocarbons (CHCs) and Chlorinated Organophosphate Hydrocarbons (COPs) with Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC) (Jun 1, 2010; PDF Only)
R33c Confirmation of Pesticides by GC/MS/MS (Aug 30, 2010; PDF Only; 2.2mb)
R33d Screening for Pesticides by LC/MS/MS and GC/MS/MS (Aug 6, 2012; PDF Only; 4.2mb)
R34 Cyanide in Tissue, Processed Meats, and Serum (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R35 Ethylene Dibromide (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R36 Fenthion (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R37 Gasoline (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R38a Analysis of Nitrosamines using Supercritical Fluid Extraction (Jun 30, 2009; PDF Only)
R38b Nitrosamines/Low-Temperature Vacuum Distillation Procedure (Jul 1991; PDF Only; 1.2mb)
R39 Synthetic Pyrethrins/c-ELISA (Jul 1991; PDF Only)
R40 Determination of Benzoic Acid, Sorbic Acid, and Methyl, Ethyl, Propyl, and Butyl Parabens by HPLC (Nov 1, 2004; PDF Only)
R41 Inhibition Screen Test for Antimicrobial Drugs (Aug 19, 2012; PDF Only)
R42 Determination and Confirmation of PFOA and PFOS by UPLC/MS/MS (Nov 5, 2009)
R43 Nicarbazin in Poultry Tissues (Jul 1991; PDF Only; 1.2mb)
R44a Screening for Malachite Green and Crystal Violet by ELISA (Apr 8, 2010)
R44b Confirmation of Malachite Green and Crystal Violet by UHPLC-MS-MS (Oct 13, 2010; PDF Only; 1.2mb)
R45 Screening and Confirmation of Animal Drug Residues by UHPLC-MS-MS (Aug 6, 2012; PDF Only)
R46 Determination and Confirmation of Penicillin G by LC-MS/MS (Aug 24, 2012; PDF Only)
R47 Determination for Ceftiofur-Related (DCA) Residues by HPLC (Oct 1, 2012; PDF Only)
S01 Fish Speciation by Isoelectric Focusing (Dec 7, 2009)
S02 Fish Speciation by PCR/Sequencing of Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) Gene (Mar 9, 2012)
Accessibility Note: All methods are offered as PDF documents. Due to age, a few documents may be searchable but not fully compliant with Section 508. If you require an alternative format, please contact:

Chemistry Branch
Quality Assurance Division, USDA/FSIS/OPHS
950 College Station Road
Athens, GA 30605


Last Modified: September 12, 2012

 

 

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