Antimicrobial Residues in Chicken Meat, Giblet, and Skin with Referring to Maximum Residue Limits

Irresponsible use of antibiotics, inability to follow label guidelines, or insufficient withdrawal periods before slaughtering poultry could result in antibiotic residues in edible poultry tissues, thereby representing hazards to public health. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the residual levels of three commonly used antimicrobials including oxytetracycline (OXY), enrofloxacin (ENRO), and sulfadimidine (SULFA) in muscle, skin, and giblets of chicken carcasses quantitatively. Additionally, the obtained residual values were compared to the maximum residue limits (MRLs) stated by the regulatory authorities. The findings denoted that the muscles of fresh domestic broilers had significantly higher values of OXY, ENRO, and SULFA than those of fresh native breeds and imported frozen chicken (p<0.05). Similarly, in pooled giblets (equal weights of liver and kidneys), OXY and ENRO were significantly higher in domestic broilers than in native breeds (p<0.05). Likewise, ENRO and SULFA residues were higher in skin samples of domestic broilers than in native breeds. In comparison to the MRLs reported by the European Commission, the muscles from 20, 60, and 50 % of examined domestic broiler carcasses exceeded the MRLs of OXY, ENRO, and SULFA., respectively, whereas muscles from 20, 70, and 50 % of examined native breed carcasses surpassed these MRLs, respectively. Conversely, in imported frozen broilers, no muscle samples topped the MRL of OXY, while 10 % of the examined carcasses exceeded the MRLs of both ENRO and SULFA. Therefore, very extensive work is needed to monitor the antimicrobial residues in poultry tissues, as well as educational programs about the proper use of antibiotics in poultry production with emphasis on the public health risks of antibiotic residues in food should target the farmers.