NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The US Food and Drug Administration has purchased a Waters Acquity TQD mass spectrometry system to develop methods for screening poultry and beef for veterinary drugs, Waters said today.
The Acquity TQD system will be used in the USDA's Agricultural Research Service's Wyndmoor, Pa., research lab.
The USDA plans to use the testing methods to find drugs that are used in poultry and livestock to protect from disease and to promote growth, but which, through "ignorance, carelessness, or deceit on the part of a small number of producers" can enter the food chain. Some of these drugs are either banned substances or are illegal at certain concentration levels, Waters noted.
The Waters mass spec system utilizes the company's MassLynx 4.1 software.
Financial terms of the agreement were not released.