Impact of Cooking Procedures on Antibacterial Drug Residues in Foods: A Review

Antibacterial drugs used in animal might result in deposition of residues in meat, milk and eggs. The presence of antimicrobial residues in animal-originated food is critical problem in many countries over the years. Because, drug residues might result in various health hazards, both actual incidence of reactions and potential hazards perceived by the public, the most countries assess residue occurrences in food to provide a safe food supply and forbid importation of unwholesome foods from exporting countries. Stability of antibacterial drug residues under cooking conditions is an important research field, which provides valuable information related to health safety aspects and is very important from a safety and toxicological point of view. It has been stated that drug residues in animal based foods may be decreased due to cooking. Stability of antibacterial residues during heating is different. In this article, the changes of antibacterial drug residues during different cooking procedures are reviewed. Ordinary cooking procedures degrade a number of antibacterial drug residues, depending on the amount of heat treatment involved. Cooking time and temperature are two main factors which affect on antibiotic residues. In some cooking procedures, sufficient heating temperature and time can reduce several antibacterial drug residues although it does not generally provide an additional margin of safety for consumers.