Occurrence of Ivermectin Residues in Egyptian Retail Market Milk and the Effect of Some Processing Treatments on Reduction of its Concentration

Abstract

Ivermectin (IVM) is a broad-spectrum antiparasitic drug widely used in the veterinary field. Its use in food-producing animals may cause accumulation of its residues into the animal tissues that find their way into the food products, such as milk, and poses a health hazard to the consumer. In this study, a total of 60 samples of raw milk intended for human consumption, collected from retail markets in Menoufia Governorate Egypt, were screened for the presence of IVM residues by high-performance liquid chromatography. The results showed that 18.3% (11/60) of the examined Raw milk samples were contaminated with IVM residues with variable concentrations. Contaminated samples were exposed to some technological processes as boiling, fermentation, and skimming in a trial to reduce IVM residues concentration. Among these technological processes, skimming was found to have a significant effect on the reduction of IVM residues concentration. Monitoring of IVM residues in milk by accurate methods such as HPLC is required to safeguard milk consumers.