Withdrawal periods of antibiotics, oxytetracycline, and oxolinic acid, in fish species cultured in the tropics

Food safety is one of the major concerns of products derived from aquaculture. Farm inputs, e.g. drugs and agrochemicals, introduced whether intentionally or unintentionally during culture, may contaminate and remain in the product and become a hazard to the consumers. Chemical hazards in aquaculture products, among them drugs used for the chemotherapy of bacterial infection in fish and other cultured aquatic animals present a negative impact in aquaculture. Fish farmers often result to this treatment in order to save their cultured stock when threatened with infection, although a general conception nowadays is the discouragement of its use, being considered only as the “last recourse.” Drugs, specifically antibiotics, have a long history of successful use in aquaculture (Alderman, 1980)