Legal residues of antibiotics in food can lead to resistance, ITM study finds
Even legally permitted residues of antibiotics in food can lead to antibiotic resistance, according to a study by Antwerp’s Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), published in Scientific Reports.
Antibiotics are used worldwide in livestock and fish farming. Small amounts can remain in food, usually within the legally permitted maximum residue limits. These limits are based on the acceptable daily intake (ADI): the amount of antibiotics that can be taken daily throughout life without adverse health effects.
However, according to the study, even these permitted amounts can be dangerous, not because they are toxic to humans, but because they stimulate antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
Clear results
In a clinical study, 20 healthy volunteers were given the ADI of the widely used antibiotic ciprofloxacin every day for four weeks. A control group of 10 participants received a placebo.
The results were clear, says the ITM: the amount of antibiotics currently permitted by law in food still led to resistant bacteria in participants. Researchers observed resistance developing in Escherichia coli (E. coli), a widespread intestinal bacterium. In addition, the intestinal microbiome was disrupted: some beneficial bacterial species decreased, while others increased.
“Previous research has shown that the use of antibiotics in food animals can lead to resistant bacteria, which may then be transmitted to humans,” ITM professor and last author of the study Chris Kenyon said.
“Our research points to a more direct cause: even small traces of antibiotics in our food can make the ordinary bacteria in our bodies resistant. In other words: the problem does not only arise outside us, but also within us.”
Global threat
The researchers warn that current food safety regulations do not take this into account and advocate a policy review to slow the spread of resistant bacteria.
A World Health Organization report released this week revealed that one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections in 2023 was resistant to antibiotic treatment.
"Even small traces of antibiotics in our food can make the ordinary bacteria in our bodies resistant"
Data reported to the WHO from more than 100 countries cautions that increasing resistance to essential antibiotics poses a growing threat to global health. Resistance is more common and worsening in places where health systems lack capacity to diagnose or treat bacterial pathogens.
"Antimicrobial resistance is outpacing advances in modern medicine, threatening the health of families worldwide,” said WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
#FlandersNewsService | Illustration © PHOTO TREMELET / IMAGE POINT FR / BSIP VIA AFP
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