Poultry production is among the most rapidly growing industries around the globe, and poultry is one of the major sources of meat. Poultry farmers use disease preventive and growth promoter antibiotics for faster growth of chickens in the shortest possible time to increase the rate of feed assimilation and to lower the incidence of mortality caused by a pathogen attack. Antibiotics may result in dysfunctionality of beneficial gut microbiota and increase resistance among microbial pathogens in poultry. Residues of these antibiotics in poultry meat have been determined in many of the studies globally and are considered one of the possible causes of antibacterial resistance in human pathogens. The presence of residues of antibiotics in poultry meat and meat products beyond maximum permissible limits is a matter of serious concern. Heat treatments can reduce the risk of some sulfonamides, tetracyclines, and fluoroquinolones but do not guarantee the complete elimination or degradation of these antibiotic residues present in broiler meat. Some of the developed countries, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and the European Union have already prohibited the application of antibiotics for preventive, as well as growth-promoting purposes. Training farmers to monitor withdrawal periods, banning the use of antibiotics as growth promoters, and adopting the veterinary feed directive of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are important parameters to mitigate the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria related to poultry production.
Keywords: Antibiotic residues; Chicken meat; Decontamination; Processing.