Title
Food safety margin assessment of antibiotics: Pasteurized goat’s milk and fresh cheese
Date Issued
01 January 2019
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Doménech E.
Escriche I.
Carmen Beltrán M.
Pilar Molina M.
Institute for Animal Science and Technology
Publisher(s)
International Association for Food Protection
Abstract
Traces of antimicrobials in milk are of great concern for public health. The European Union has established maximum residue limits in milk; these, however, by themselves do not guarantee the absence of drug residues in milk and related products. Currently, very little information is available on the transfer of antibiotic residues from milk to other dairy products and their potential effect on food safety. This work evaluated the presence of antibiotic residues in pasteurized fluid milk and fresh cheeses from goat’s milk containing these veterinary drugs at legal safety levels (maximum residue limits) and assessed the safety margin of these dairy products for consumers. Eight antibiotics (amoxicillin, benzylpenicillin, cloxacillin, neomycin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, and oxytetracycline) were selected, and three batches of fresh cheese were made from pasteurized goat’s milk spiked with each of these drugs. Drug residues in milk and cheese samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. The safety margin of goat’s milk products was calculated taking into account different age groups (children, teenagers, and adults). Results showed that most antibiotics present in raw milk remained in pasteurized milk and were transferred to cheese to a high extent; retention was above 50% in most cases. The minimum safety margin in pasteurized milk was obtained for enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and erythromycin for the children’s group. For fresh cheese, an elevated safety margin was obtained for all antibiotics and age groups considered. However, the large amounts of antibiotics retained in the cheese might contribute to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Considering the differences in milk from different species and the great variety of cheeses, it would be advisable to continue the traceability study of antibiotics in order to increase the safety margin of dairy products.
Start page
1553
End page
1559
Volume
82
Issue
9
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ciencia veterinaria Ciencia animal, Ciencia de productos lácteos
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85071713017
PubMed ID
Source
Journal of Food Protection
ISSN of the container
0362028X
Sponsor(s)
This work is part of AGL-2013-45147-R, funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation (Madrid, Spain). The authors thank Universitat Politècnica de València (Program of Research and Development, FPI-2014) for funding the Ph.D. scholarship FPI-2014 attained by P. Quintanilla. Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación MICINN
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus