Dietary Exposure Assessment of Benzylpenicillin Residue in Pork Consumed by Age and Gender Groups in the Philippines

Abstract

Exposure assessment is one of the most important key components of the risk assessment process. Dietary intake of significant amounts of residue can lead to adverse health effects and development of antimicrobial resistance in the population. The study was conducted to determine exposure risk to antibiotic drug residues in pork consumed in the Philippines. The specific aim was to estimate dietary exposure of Benzylpenicillin residues by age and gender groups. Parameters such as food consumption, substances residue, body weight, ages, and gender groups were gathered from local and international institutions. Mathematical equations were used to calculate for Dietary Exposure from amount of drug residue multiplied by the mean food consumption and adjusted by body weight. The present study; dietary exposure of Benzylpenicillin residue for children from 1 to <3 years old had the highest exposed followed by adolescents, adults and infants while males were significantly higher than females (p<0.05). This is the first attempt to determine risk assessment of dietary exposure to antibiotic residue of different population groups in the Philippines. Improvement of mathematical models used in this study is proposed to better prioritize exposure assessment models for veterinary drug residues to ensure the safety of food produced from farm to table.