Absence of banned anabolic steriods [steroids] and chloramphenicol in Serbian Petrovac Sausage

During the last decade great efforts have been made both in the development of technological procedures in food production and processing and in introduction of food control methods, which will help to reach the acceptable safety standards. Control of veterinary medicinal product residues, as well as of other contaminants, both in the European Union and in the Republic of Serbia is a remarkable step ahead towards decreasing adverse effects on the consumer health ( the EU Council Directive 96/23/EC, Commission Decision 98/179/EC, Council Regulation 2377/90/EEC, Food Safety Law, etc.). The entire strategy has the aim to regain the shaken trust of consumers not only in the food chain safety but, in a broader sense, in the food science, legislation and food control. According to the Directive 96/23/EC, residues are divided into the Group A and the Group B. The Group A includes prohibited substances defined by the Council Directive 96/22 and Annex IV of Regulation 2377/90. The Group A is divided into 6 sub-groups (A1-A6) and comprises substances which have been prohibited from use in the raising of animals. The Council Directive 96/23/EC demands control of all compounds mentioned in Annex I. The control of compounds (A1-A6) is of the greatest importance for the EU, and it is imperatively demanded from the third world countries to conduct such control in certain matrices (Spiric et al., 2007; Jankovic, 2008). Within the National Project titled “Development of Technologies of Drying and Fermentation of the Petrovac Sausage (Petrovská klobása - designation of the geographical origin) in Controlled Conditions”, Registry Number TR – 20037, the presence of substances with an anabolic effect and the presence of chloramphenicol (group A) were tested. The main goal of this research was to confirm the safety of raw materials and of the product itself within the traditional production process of the fermented sausage, the Petrovac sausage, with the special account of the product protection by designation of its geographical origin. The objective of the Project was also conceptualized in accordance with the Council Directive 96/23/EC and the Commission Decision 97/747/EC, and it included monitoring specific substances and their residues.