Occurrence, public health hazards and detection methods of antibiotic residues in foods of animal origin: A comprehensive review

The major use of antibiotics is for the treatment and prevention of diseases. Antibiotics are used in the livestock industry to enhance growth rate, increase feed efficiency and reduce disease development. But unscrupulous use of antibiotic plays a major role in the emerging public health crisis of antibiotic resistance. The issue becomes more relevant on a future perspective because the global use of antimicrobials for food animal production is predicted to increase by 67% in 2030. This issue required timely intervention in India because India is a hotspot with higher consumption (30 kg/km2) for industrial poultry production, which is expected to grow 312% by 2030. But on same time complete ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) can create an economic loss of 44.1 billion USD in global meat production. Antibiotic residues in food have twofold concern; one is potential threat of direct toxicity in humans and the second is possible development of resistant strains and failure of antibiotic therapy in clinical cases. This review critically analyzes global trends in the use of AGP, its incidence, methods of detection and associated health concerns and suggests possible ways to reduce the residues in foods of animal origin