Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Food Safety and Hygiene 2476-3241 1 1 2015 10 05 22 25 EN SeyedMohammad Mousavi Food Safety and Hygiene Division, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Gholamreza Jahed-Khaniki Food Safety and Hygiene Division, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Sasan Rezaie Food Safety and Hygiene Division, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Soheyl Eskandari Food and Drug Control Reference Laboratories Center, Department of Food Animal Origion, Food and Drug Organization, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Soudabeh Shahsavari-Moghaddam Food and Drug Control Reference Laboratories Center, Department of Food Animal Origion, Food and Drug Organization, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Mahdieh Abbasi Fesarani Food and Drug Control Reference Laboratories Center, Department of Food Animal Origion, Food and Drug Organization, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Abbas Najafpourkhadem Food and Drug Control Reference Laboratories Center, Department of Food Animal Origion, Food and Drug Organization, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran 2015 10 05 2015 10 05 Despite of useful information on important factors of screening tests for the detection of drug residues in milk, the choice of a suitable test is still difficult. The aim of this study was to evaluate three different tests, including Copan, maximum residue limit (MRL) β- lactam and lactic coagulation test for routine screening of milk containing β-lactam antibiotics. Blank milk samples were added with different concentrations of three β- lactams, including penicillin, amoxicillin, ampicillin, and examined then by all three tests. Both Copan milk and MRL β-lactam tests were easy to use and sensitive to mentioned β- lactams at or below the MRLs established by European Union, but lactic coagulation test was not able to detect them at or even exceeding the safe level of MRLs. Copan test was also easier to interpret and less expensive while the results of MRL β-lactam were obtained in a short time. Depend on purpose, both Copan and MRL β-lactam tests can be applied as a screening test for the detection of β-lactams in raw milk. https://jfsh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jfsh/article/view/5 https://jfsh.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jfsh/article/download/5/5