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Review
. 2024 Jun;98(6):1717-1725.
doi: 10.1007/s00204-024-03760-z. Epub 2024 Apr 30.

The two faces of antibiotics: an overview of the effects of antibiotic residues in foodstuffs

Merve Güdül Bacanlı  1
Affiliations
Review

The two faces of antibiotics: an overview of the effects of antibiotic residues in foodstuffs

Merve Güdül Bacanlı. Arch Toxicol. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

Antibiotics, which have been used for many years to treat infections, also play an important role in food contamination with antibiotic residues. There is also unnecessary use of antibiotics, particularly to increase production efficiency. Non-compliance with withdrawal periods and maximum residue limits (MRLs) for antibiotics used in food-producing animals results in undesirable events, such as allergic reactions, teratogenicity, carcinogenicity, changes in the microbiota and, in particular, antibiotic resistance. Therefore, it may be useful to avoid unnecessary use of antibiotics, to limit the use of antibiotics and to turn to alternatives that can be used instead of antibiotics. The aim of this review is to provide information on the undesirable effects of antibiotic residues in food-producing organisms and in the environment, their determination, and the precautions that can be taken.

Keywords: Antibiotic; Antibiotic resistance; Food animal; Toxic effects.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author declares that no conflict of interest.

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