Screening of antimicrobial residues and confirmation of doxycycline in samples collected from chicken farms and processing units located around Mumbai, India

The presence of antimicrobial residues in meat has several impacts on health aspects to the consumer. Strategic and scientific study on risk assessment of antibiotic residue in poultry production chain with different set of practices has not been conducted in order to protect the health of common consumers. The present study was planned to screen antibiotic residue in chicken meat production chain managed under different set of practices of farming and processing. Chicken farms managed under non-integrated, partially integrated and completely integrated sector and three different individual chicken processing units identified as retail shops, semiautomatic processing unit and automated processing unit along with one product processing unit were randomly selected for the collection of samples. A total of 271 samples (meat, serum, water and feed) comprising of 180 samples from poultry farms, 81 samples from chicken processing units and 10 muscle samples from poultry product processing units were collected and subjected for qualitative antimicrobial screening by Microbial Inhibition Assay Test Kit and confirmation by High Performance Liquid Chromatography /Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry was done. On screening by Microbial Inhibition Assay Test Kit, Muscle (2), Liver (2) and Feed (7) samples (6.11%) were positive from non-integrated (3.88%) and partially integrated farming systems (2.22%). Significant difference (P<0.05) was observed for antibiotic residue in feed samples of non-integrated (55.55%) and partially integrated (22.22%) farms. On screening of 91 samples, collected from chicken processing and product processing units, 08 (8.79%) samples were - positive. The HPLC analysis indicated that 9.5% and 5.26% muscle and liver samples, respectively were positive for doxycycline residue. Feed samples (57.14%) found positive to Chlortetracycline and 4-Epichlorotetracycline residues when analyzed by LCMS, with mean concentration of 2722.12 and 3720.87?g/kg, respectively. The presence of antibiotic residues in muscle and liver samples of unorganized farms and retail processing unit was higher in comparison. Therefore, the poultry farming and processing systems should be kept under continuous monitoring for preventing the occurrence of antibiotic residues in meat and meat products.