Nitrofurans' residues in food of animal origin

Abstract

Nitrofurans are synthetic broad-spectrum antimicobial agents that are often used in commercial animal production because of their excellent antibacterial and pharmacokinetic properties. However, nitrofurans and their metabolites have been shown to have potentially carcinogenic and mutagenic characteristics which has led to a ban on the use of nitrofurans in preventive and therapeutic treatment of animals used for food production. Metabolites of nitrofurans that can be determined after their application are: a metabolite of furazolidone, furaltadone metabolite, a metabolite of nitrofurantoin and nitrofurazone metabolite. The presence of residues of nitrofuran antibiotics in meat, fish and shrimps, and milk and eggs originating from countries outside the European Union is monitored and recorded by the RASFF system of the European Union. Furthermore, since nitrofurans are used in some countries as prophylactic agents and growth promoters, it is necessary to carry out constant control of various types of food of animal origin, in order to reduce to the minimum potential carcinogenic and mutagenic effects of these supstances for the health of consumers. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is no permanent control of nitrofurans in food of animal origin. The provisions of the „Regulation on the maximum allowable amounts of veterinary drugs and pesticides in products of animal origin", published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina state the prohibiting of the use of certain veterinary drugs in animals intended for human consumption, including nitrofurans. The European Union has established the minimum required limit (MRLP) for performance which is 1 μg/kg of nitrofurans for edible tissues of animal origin. Taking all this into account, methods for nitrofurans detection should be accreditated and validated, both for screening and confirmatory methods, and further research into the presence of nitrofurans in food of animal origin in Bosnia and Herzegovina should be performed.

Keywords

• nitrofurans
• RASFF system
• MRPL
• screening and confirmative methods