Investigation and dietary exposure risk assessment of tetracycline antibiotics residues in eggs and chicken sold on the market

Abstract

ObjectiveTo determine the levels of tetracycline antibiotic residues in eggs and chicken sold on the market in Hangzhou， the pollution sources were explored， and their dietary exposure risk was evaluated.MethodsA total of 66 chicken and 71 egg samples were randomly collected from Hangzhou in 2021 for the detection of tetracycline antibiotics by ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry， including tetracycline， oxytetracycline， aureomycin， and doxycycline. The risk of tetracycline antibiotic residues in samples was evaluated by food safety index.ResultsThe detection rate of doxycycline and oxytetracycline in chicken samples were 45.4% and 1.52%， respectively. Tetracycline and aureomycin residues were not detected， and no samples exceeded the standards. Of the four antibiotics， only doxycycline residues were detected in egg samples， and the detection rate and over standard rate were both 1.41%. The overall food safety indices of four tetracyclines were less than one， indicating that eggs and chicken in Hangzhou were safe for consumption.ConclusionTetracycline antibiotics residues were found in eggs and chicken in Hangzhou， while the overall contamination level was low. The safety status of eggs and chicken in Hangzhou was thus considered acceptable.

Keywords

• chicken
• egg
• tetracycline antibiotic
• residues
• food safety indexes