Monitoring of antibiotic residues among sheep meats at Erbil city and thermal processing effect on their remnants

Abstract

The incidence of antibiotic residues in meat is considered a serious hazard to public health. This work was conducted to survey the incidence of antibiotics residues among lambs' meats and mutton in Erbil city. The effect of thermal processing on residues was also addressed. From July to December 2018, a total of 280 samples were collected from butcher shops in Erbil city and analyzed microbiologically in plates pre-inoculated with Bacillus subtilis by direct and extraction methods. The overall incidence of antibiotics residues was 10.4% and 13.2% according to direct and extraction methods respectively. The highest incidence rate was detected in December 22.2%. We found that thermal processing, cooking for 45 minutes leads to the conversion of antibiotic residues into completely inactive residues against the bactericidal bacteria. In conclusion, the presence of antibiotic residue among sheep meats in the city of Erbil is high and their persistence is easily eliminated by cooking.