Abstract
BackgroundThe contamination of food by chemical hazards is a worldwide public health concern and is a leading cause of trade problems internationally. Based on former work describing the prevalent use and misuse of antibiotics in cattle in the Far North Region of Cameroon, we designed a study to detect antibiotic (penicillin G and oxytetracycline) in beef sold for human consumption in Maroua (Cameroon). To determine the mean concentration of antibiotic residues in beef, sample of liver and muscle were collected from 202 cattle selected randomly in all the slaughterhouses of Maroua and Godola and analyzed using Liquid Chromatographic tandem Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Characteristics of the cattle selected (age, sex, breed, body condition score, weight, production system, and pathology, etc.) were also collected before and/or after slaughter – by physical examination and survey, and post mortem examination.ResultsResults revealed that out of 202 cattle 41 (20.30%) tested positive for antibiotics in one or more of their organs. The meat of cattle from transhumance system, sick animals and older cattle was more likely to be contained with penicillin G and oxytetracycline residues. The average residues concentration in beef was 17.58 μg/kg for penicillin G and 240 μg/kg for oxytetracycline.ConclusionsThe findings of the present study should be alarming for the legislative authorities in food security and safety. This highlights a very serious problem, both for the consumers of Maroua city and the herders of the region as well as for the whole economy of Cameroon. It is therefore be important that measures be taken at several levels by the actors of the sector (public authorities, veterinary auxiliaries, etc.) to guarantee the safety of the food of animal origin.
Highlights
The contamination of food by chemical hazards is a worldwide public health concern and is a leading cause of trade problems internationally
The dual purpose of this study is to determine, on one hand the proportion of animals whose carcasses are contaminated with penicillin G and oxytetracycline residues in Maroua (Far North of Cameroon); and in the other hand to estimate the concentration of residues of these antibiotics in the beef consumed in Maroua town
Samples collection Due to the lack of data related to this subject in our study area in particular and in Cameroon in general, and due to the difficulty of doing preliminary test in order to estimate the probability of having beef contaminated with residues of veterinary medicines, we proceeded with the assumption that the positive sample rate is 20%
Summary
The contamination of food by chemical hazards is a worldwide public health concern and is a leading cause of trade problems internationally. Based on former work describing the prevalent use and misuse of antibiotics in cattle in the Far North Region of Cameroon, we designed a study to detect antibiotic (penicillin G and oxytetracycline) in beef sold for human consumption in Maroua (Cameroon). In several countries around the world, there are specialized organizations to monitor veterinary drugs in foods of animal origin (Kang et al 2015). Hazards in foods of animal origin are gratually considered as public health threats in africa. In Cameroon, consumption of animal products covered up to 8.1% of the total diet (Pouokam et al 2017). In this country where cattle breeding is a lever for the economic development of the country (Messomo 2006), very few studies have been carried out by researchers in this domain. The bovine sector is the main channel chosen in the livestock sector under the Three-Year Emergency Plan for Growth and Employment put in place by the President of the Republic of Cameroon to speed up the economy growth and improve living conditions for population
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