Antibiotics are part of the veterinary drugs which are administered to food producing animals routinely for either treatment, prevention of disease or to modify physiological functions. However, such drugs leave behind residues in the organisms and these residues can make their way into the animal sourced products such as meat, milk, eggs and honey and from there they find their way into the human food chain. The most likely reason for drug residues is improper usage which could be over use of the drug or use of non-permitted antibiotics. Another reason could be the failure to maintain the withdrawal period in animals.
Uncontrolled presence of residues of antibiotics and other drugs in food, as a result of their use in food-producing animals, has the potential to pose a threat to human health and also lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among disease-causing bacteria.
The World Health Organisation has often laid emphasis on the issue of antimicrobial resistance brought on by rampant use of antibiotics on animals for therapeutic use. Misuse of antibiotics in veterinary practices and in agriculture is leading to the resistance issue. Unless residues in meat and meat products, chicken, milk etc. are controlled therapeutic use of veterinary drugs and antibiotics in meat and chicken will continue.
However, controlling veterinary drug residues in the food sector is challenging due to the large number of drugs administered to animals that are a food source, the diversity of the animals themselves as well as the different varieties of food products derived from the animals. There are more than 200 compounds from veterinary drugs that have been identified as posing a potential health risk for consumers. It is therefore, important for food producers and food manufacturers to fully understand regulatory standards relating to veterinary drugs, antibiotics and their residues in the food chain.
Veterinary drugs are regulated at the national level or internationally through global food standards organizations. International Organisations such as Codex Alimentarius lay down maximum residual limits (MRL) for such residues in different animal products. While most veterinary drugs are regulated based on maximum residue limits, there are others that are banned for human consumption in food. In India, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) publishes regulations laying down such limits to be followed by food producers in India.
The Food Safety and Standards (Contaminants, Toxins, and Residues) Second Amendment Regulation, 2018 mentions the tolerance limit of antibiotics and pharmacology active substances in foods of animal origin, like meat/meat products, poultry, fish, and milk. In the second amendment the FSSAI has provided new tolerance limits for 103 antibiotics and veterinary drugs in meat/meat products (including poultry and fish) and milk. Among the new provisions, tolerance limits for 76 antibiotics (These are either prohibited or not-intended for use in food-producing animals) have been specified at 0.01 mg/kg of the listed food and largely reflects the level of detection of such antibiotics/drugs by existing method of analysis.
There were also revisions to the prohibited list of antibiotics and veterinary drugs applicable to meat and meat products, and poultry and eggs, seafood including shrimps, prawns or any variety of fish and fishery products. The Extraneous Maximum Residue Limit of 0.001 mg/kg will be applicable except for Chloramphenicol for which it will be 0.0003 mg/Kg. This means that mere detection of these antibiotics in foods is unacceptable from the food safety point of view. The revised or new provisions pertaining to the tolerance limits of antibiotics and veterinary drugs were amended by FSSAI so that they could be in alignment with the international best practices. They are intended to address the food safety concerns in foods of animal origin, whether consumed domestically or in the countries of export.
The need for the food industry to monitor veterinary substances in a wide range of food products through reliable analytical solutions cannot be overlooked as residues have the potential to pose a health risk to consumers. Another reason to monitor these residues is that the international market will accept only those foods that are safe. Indian processed foods will not be able to compete unless the standards for veterinary drug residues is in keeping with international standards. Analysis of animal sourced foods, therefore, needs to be thorough, using approved methods of analysis accepted worldwide.
At the same time it is also necessary to educate and train dairy and poultry farmers and bee keepers in the latest standards of animal husbandry procedures. They also need to maintain high level of quality control to keep antibiotic residues within permissible limits and avoid contaminating the food chain as that can have wide ranging effects on the health of the people. All animal farmers need to be careful and must administer antibiotics only under prescribed conditions and in front of the veterinarians. It is also necessary that appropriate tool kits are available at the field level for effective monitoring of residue limits, particularly in the case of milk which is often the main diet of infants. Over the counter sales of such antibiotics should be discouraged and food producers must ensure that they
- follow the recommended label directions or dosage
- adhere to recommended withdrawal period
- not administer a large volume at a single injection site
- make sure equipment is cleaned properly and free of drug-contaminants
- prevent animals from having access to veterinary drugs when not required
Source:
J Vet Sci Technol, 2016 – academia.edu
Veterinary Drug Residues in Food-animal Products: Its Risk Factors and
Potential Effects on Public Health
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