A review of the antibiotic residues in food in the Arab countries

The safety and quality of foods of animal origin are of great importance to the human health and economy. Food can contain different hazards, including antibiotic residues. In both low and middle-income countries, such as the case of the majority of the Arab countries, the use of antibiotics is not under control, in addition to the poor monitoring of imported foodstuffs. This has been causing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that is in turn threatening the safety of both animals and humans. The presence of antibiotic residues in food commodities, such as dairy and meat products, in addition to honey, is a public health concern. In this review, literature review from the Arab countries on antibiotic residues in foods was done and a total of 40 published articles were found and analyzed. The findings of these articles in terms of most used antibiotics, exposure levels, detection methods, in addition to understanding the factors that increase their presence in food samples are presented in this review.