Microbiological Safety of Drug Residues in Food - Workshop Objectives

• Published in: Microbial ecology in health and disease 2000, Vol.12 (1), p.13-14
• Main Author: Bartholomew, Mary J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: antimicrobial agents; veterinary medicine
• ISSN: 0891-060X; 1651-2235; 1651-2235
• DOI: 10.1080/08910600050216084

Following the symposium in 1992, Microbiological Significance of Drug Residues in Food, CVM decided four classes of microbiological endpoints might provide a basis for determining the microbiological safety of residue levels of antimicrobial products. Those endpoints were selection of resistant bacteria, perturbation of the barrier effect, changes in bacterial populations, and changes in metabolic activity of the intestinal microflora. Based on information learned at the workshop as well as other information that was available, CVM let two contracts for experiments to study the merits of an in vivo model system and the merits of an in vitro model system for measuring these microbiological endpoints. Several antimicrobial products were tested using both systems. Each of the microbiological endpoints was tested for each of the several drugs. The purpose of conducting these experiments in this parallel fashion was that it would allow for comparative assessments of the two model systems across the range of microbiological endpoints. Concomitantly this also permits evaluation of the utility of the microbiological endpoints for making determinations about the level of antimicrobial residues required to maintain public health.