Antibiotic residues in poultry tissues in Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis

To control the drug residues in foods, the national Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) have been determined by the international organizations; however, no regulation has been complied for MRL in food animals in Iran. This study was a systematic review and meta-analysis about studies of antibiotic residues in slaughtered poultry carcasses, in Iran. The information was first collected and analyzed throughout six international databases, and four Iranian national databases. According to the data, the total prevalence of antibiotic residues was obtained as 39.41%, 5.40%, and 0.30% using four-plate test (FPT), High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and Enzyme-linked immuno_sorbent assay (ELISA) methods, respectively. The highest prevalence of the residues was shown in the liver by both methods of HPLC (47.75%) and ELISA (14.35%). Moreover, the total mean of antibiotics was recorded as 71.03 ppb and 65.86 ppb in different tissues using the HPLC and ELISA method, respectively. Based on this study, we can conclude that the prevalence of antibiotic residue in poultry meat in Iran is high and that this level does not cause health problems for consumers. It is highly recommended to execute tight surveillance strategies from the government in antibiotic monitoring.