The College of Veterinary Medicine at Al-Qadisiyah University holds a discussion session on the dangers of antibiotic residues in meat and their threat to public health

Under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Kazem Jabr Al-Jubouri, President of Al-Qadisiyah University, and under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Munir Abdul Amir Abdul Fatlawi, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Public Health Department at the College held a discussion session on antibiotic residues in meat as a threat to public health, attended by Asst. Prof. Dr. Aseel Abdul Redha Saeed. The session showed the increased interest in food safety and public health in recent years, which led to the need to detect antibiotic residues in foods, especially those of animal origin. Antibiotics are used in livestock and poultry farming, but they may pose a risk to human health when consuming the meat of these animals. These antibiotics remain in the meat due to the farmer’s failure to adhere to the necessary time period to expel them before slaughter. The session recommended that the current situation requires urgent measures to address the problem of food safety, by strengthening the role of regulatory agencies in examining meat, its products and feed in the laboratory. Field research and studies should also be expanded to provide technical support to decision-makers and bodies concerned with health control. Unsafe food must be detected and confiscated, and those responsible for harmful residues punished to protect consumers.