Quinolones are a group of antimicrobial compounds widely used in human and veterinary therapeutics. However, due to the increasing resistance of bacteria to this family of molecules and their critical importance in human medicine, they have been included in category B for responsible and prudent use in animals. Thus, their use has to be restricted to reduce the risk to public health. However, there is a considerable group of medicines authorised in cattle that contain a quinolone family compound. They are surpassed only by the beta-lactam family (penicillin and cephalosporins) and tetracyclines.

At ZEULAB, we have developed a very simple and rapid method to test for the presence of quinolones in milk, outside of a laboratory. QuinoScan is a rapid test in a single stage, with results in just 6 minutes, and the best sensitivity on the market for detecting all quinolone family compounds below their MRLs, including flumequine.

This test was recently validated by MQD, Institut für Analytik, Hygiene und Produktqualität GmbH (Institute for analytics, hygiene and product quality) in Germany with the following results: