Assessment Of Antibiotic Residues In Milk Collected At Tanga Dairy Cooperative Union Centre In Tanga Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

A study on drug residues content was done on milk received by Tanga Dairy Cooperative Union in Tanga municipality. Milk samples (384) were collected from 96 farmers on four consecutive days. Forty two of the sampled farmers were interviewed using a questionnaire. The Charm- Aim-96 test which detects permitted maximum residue limits was used. Results showed that out of 384 screened milk samples, 42.7% were found
positive for antibiotic residues while 57.3% were negative. About 65% of the farmers had at least one of their milk samples testing positive while 32.3% tested negative. Of the interviewed farmers, 59.5% had at least one positive sample. Farmers did not differ significantly (p>0.05) in all management characteristics and factors/practices which could result in milk antibiotic residues. The number of milking cows, type of commonly
encountered diseases and the lack of proper advise on withdrawal periods were found to be significantly (p<0.05) associated with presence of antibiotic residues in milk. The very high proportion of milk containing antibiotic residues was due to lack of adherence to withdrawal period of veterinary drugs and poses a risk to public health and the dairy industry. Widespread testing for drug residues, educational programs and
awareness campaigns should be conducted to alleviate the problem.

Tanzania Veterinary Journal Vol. 24 (1) 2007: pp.38-51