Investigation of antibiotic residue in drinking milk sold in Ankara province

The illegal and uncontrolled use of antibiotics in animal husbandry poses serious risks to human health. In the European Union, in our country and in many other countries, restrictions have been imposed on the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry and their use has been regulated by appropriate legislation. The most consumed food as an animal product is cow's milk. In 2020, world total milk production reached approximately 875 million tons. According to Tuik data, 23 million 200 thousand 306 tons of milk was produced in our country in 2021. The demand for milk and products made from milk is increasing in parallel with the increase in population and income. The increase in demand causes the increase in the number of animals, the establishment of new livestock facilities and the increase in animal production. However, drug consumption, especially the use of antibiotics, has reached a very serious level. The residues formed with the use of drugs threaten human health. The remains are tried to be kept under control by various regulations by the countries. In our study, beta-lactams, which are the most commonly used antibiotic group in drinking milk offered for consumption in Ankara, were determined by using the ELISA method to determine whether the residue levels were in accordance with the limit values reported in the EU Commission and Turkish Food Codex Regulation. In 2022, July and August, 25 UHT and 25 pasteurized milk samples were taken from UHT and pasteurized milk belonging to 5 different companies on a weekly basis. Likewise, 25 raw cow milk samples, 5 different samples, were taken from the milk collection tanks (or collection containers) of street milk offered for sale in Ankara, from milk samples from 5 different districts. The total sample taken is 75 pieces. No residue was found in UHT and raw milk from the samples taken. Residues between 1-3.1 ppb were found in raw milk, and the results were below the legal limits. Keywords: Ankara, Beta-lactam, Milk, Residue, UHT.