article · Foods
Veterinary medicines are vital for animal husbandry and food production, but their pharmacologically active residues can persist in animal-derived foods and the wider environment. People can be exposed to these substances through food, drinking water, air, and dust. Exposure stems from several practices and sources, including contaminated water or feed, extra-label drug use, and failure to observe mandated withdrawal periods. When ingested or inhaled, these residues pose serious human health threats, including the emergence of antibiotic resistance, cancer development, hypersensitivity reactions, teratogenic harm, and disruptions to normal gut microflora. Mitigating these dangers requires analytical methods to detect residue traces, strict enforcement of withdrawal intervals, dedicated surveillance monitoring programmes, public and farmer education initiatives, and the adoption of novel technologies to protect the safety of food supply chains.
Unchecked veterinary residues in animal products compromise food safety across the globe. Exposure to these hidden compounds can induce toxic effects, alter the human microbiome, and accelerate antimicrobial resistance, diminishing the efficacy of life-saving medicines. Implementing robust analytical screening and strict regulatory practices ensures that everyday meat, dairy, and drinking water remain safe for public consumption.
The abstract highlights a demand for analytical techniques and novel technologies to detect and mitigate veterinary drug residues across food supply chains. Prospective users include food producers, testing laboratories, and regulatory agencies seeking reliable monitoring tools. However, as a broad review of sources and impacts, the abstract does not describe a specific product or assess technology readiness, indicating that practical applications depend on developing and validating these proposed tools.
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Veterinary medications are necessary for both contemporary animal husbandry and food production, but their residues can linger in foods obtained from animals and pose a dangerous human risk. In this review, we aim to highlight the sources, occurrence, human exposure pathways, and human health effects of drug residues in food-animal products. Following the usage of veterinary medications, pharmacologically active compounds known as drug residues can be found in food, the environment, or animals. They can cause major health concerns to people, including antibiotic resistance development, the development of cancer, teratogenic effects, hypersensitivity, and disruption of normal intestinal flora. Drug residues in animal products can originate from variety of sources, including water or food contamination, extra-label drug use, and ignoring drug withdrawal periods. This review also examines how humans can be exposed to drug residues through drinking water, food, air, and dust, and discusses various analytical techniques for identifying these residues in food. Furthermore, we suggest some potential solutions to prevent or reduce drug residues in animal products and human exposure pathways, such as implementing withdrawal periods, monitoring programs, education campaigns, and new technologies that are crucial for safeguarding public health. This review underscores the urgency of addressing veterinary drug residues as a significant and emerging public health threat, calling for collaborative efforts from researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders to develop sustainable solutions that ensure the safety of the global food supply chain.
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DOI: 10.3390/foods13111629
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