Ractopamine: analytical method validation; and the detection in loin, tissues and urine of pigs fed meat and bone meal containing this growth promoter Ractopamine hydrochloride (RAC) is a β-agonist additive that has been used in many countries as a repartitioning agent, redirecting nutrients in order to increase leanness and decrease lipid deposition in pigs. Countries from the European Union and Asia question their safety, while American countries and Australia allow their controlled use as an additive added to the feed of pigsin the finishing phase. In Brazil, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply together with the national production sector, developed a Program called "SplitSystem" to ensure a safe product without RAC in order to meet international sanitary requirements. However, coproducts used in animal feed may contain RAC, such as meat and bone meal (MBM), one of the main feed ingredients used in many countries which can partially replace soybean meal to lower costs. As the level of RAC in this protein source has not been established an experiment was under taken to examine the impact on pig tissues of increasing amounts of meat and bone meal (MBM) in four dietary groups: 0, 7, 14 and 21% w/w of MBM-containing RAC (53.5 µg kg-1) in the diet. The purpose was to verify if ractopamine residues remain in pig tissues (muscle, liver, kidneys, and lungs) and how much is eliminated through urine. To addrress these concerns, gilts were fed RAC via MBM daily, from weaning until slaughter. RAC was determined in muscle, liver, kidneys, and lungs with a limit of detection (LOD) = 0.15, 0.5, 0.5 and 1.0 µg kg-1 , respectively), and no RAC residues were quantified above the limit of quantification (LOQ) = 0.5, 2.5, 2.5 and 2.5 µg kg-1 , respectively). In urine, RAC concentration remained below 1.35 µg L-1. These values are below the maximum residue limits (MRLs) established by legislation. Therefore, MBM (53.5 μg kg-1 of RAC) can be used up to 21% in pig diets, however when considering restrictive markets, it is recommended not to use MBM.