Antibiotics in Food
We now have a better way to find out how if our food is on drugs.
Widespread use of antibiotics in livestock production has led to trace amounts of the drugs ending up in food products—and there is a worry that long-term consumption could cause problems that include the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens and microbiome imbalances. But, historically, it’s been difficult to get a grasp of all the different antibiotics in the meat and dairy food supply. Also, antibiotics can accumulate in grains, vegetables and fruits from manure fertilizer, or treated wastewater applied to crops.
Now, researchers reporting in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry have developed a cost-effective method to simultaneously measure up to 77 antibiotics in a variety of foods. The researchers hope this new method—which involves treating freeze-dried food samples with an acidified acetonitrile solution and a mixture of magnesium sulfate and sodium acetate—will help with monitoring and regulating antibiotic levels in our food supply. A total of 10 different antibiotics were detected in store-bought samples of wheat flour, mutton, eggs, milk, cabbage and bananas.
See also: Top Burger Chains Get Failing Marks on Antibiotics
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
