Antibiotics Absorbed By Vegetables

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Antibiotics Absorbed By Vegetables

Evaluating the impact of livestock antibiotics on the

environment, University of Minnesota researchers have found that many

vegetables uptake the antibiotics. The study, in the Journal of Environmental

Quality, shows that food crops can readily accumulate antibiotics from soils

spread with cattle manure.

The findings were based on a greenhouse study involving

three food crops: corn, lettuce, and potatoes. The plants were grown in soil

modified with liquid hog manure containing sulfamethazine, a commonly used

veterinary antibiotic. The researchers found that the antibiotic was taken up

by all three crops. The antibiotic was found in the plant leaves and

concentrations in the plant tissue increased as the amount of antibiotic

present in the manure increased. Worryingly, it also diffused into potato

tubers, which suggests that other root crops - such as carrots and radishes -

may be particularly vulnerable to antibiotic contamination. Researcher Satish

Gupta said that contaminated plants had the potential to cause allergic

reactions in people with antibiotic sensitivity. He also noted that

contamination is likely to foster antimicrobial resistance, which can render

antibiotics ineffective. And co-researcher Holly Dolliver warned that

antibiotic contaminated plants may be

of particular concern to the organic farming industry,

where manure is often the main source of crop nutrients. While the USDA

stipulates that organic producers must manage animal materials in a manner that

does not contribute to contamination of crops by residues of prohibited

substances, manures containing antibiotics are not formally banned or prohibited.

Dolliver concluded that further research is needed to investigate how different

plants absorb different antibiotic compounds. http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20070611194357data_trunc_sys.shtml

Source: Soil Science Society of America

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Researchers find animal antibiotics in vegetables

 

By Ahmed ElAmin

 

11/22/2005 - Antibiotics given to livestock can end up in

vegetables and pose a health threat to consumers, according to a study looking

at the use of animal manure as a fertilizer.

 

 

The University of Minnesota study will add to the level

of public concern about the food the eat. It also serves as a warning to food

processors that they need to be vigilant when sourcing their vegetables.

The processing industry is under regulatory and

consumer pressure to ensure the safety of their food products. Regular

breakdowns in food safety and reports on contamination have raised consumer

awareness about the problem.

The study, published in the Journal of Environmental

Quality, indicates that processors will have to be careful when sourcing their

vegetables, whether non-organic or organic. The contaminationthreat is due to

the US laws allowing farmers to use animal manure as fertilizer in both conventional

and organic agriculture.

In the study, University of Minnesota researchers found

that corn, cabbage, and green onions absorbed chlortetracycline from manure

fertilizer obtained from pigs that were given the antibiotic.

Chlortetracycline is a member of the tetracycline class

of antibiotics that are used in human medicine to treat upper respiratory tract

infections and other illnesses. Tetracyclines and otherantibiotics also are

used as feed additives in poultry, hogs and beef cattle.

Feed additives are not used to treat disease, but to

promote slightly faster growth and to compensate for overcrowded and unsanitary

conditions on industrial-scale farms.

When the antibiotics are ingested by a human they can

spur the bacteria naturally present in the intestinal tract, including types of

bacteria that can cause serious disease, to becomedrug-resistant, the

researchers stated.

" Vegetarians may think the huge overuse of

antibiotics in livestock and poultry will not affect them, but that's not true

for two reasons, " stated Margaret Mellon, the director ofthe Union of

Concerned Scientists' Food and Environment Program. " Consumers eating

vegetables grown on soil fertilized with manure may be unknowingly ingesting

antibiotics. Even moreimportantly, resistant bacteria that are created on the

farm can contaminate air, water and soil that can travel significant

distances. "

While raw and composted manure may be used with little

restriction in conventional agriculture, the US Department of Agriculture's

rules requires that manure used in organic farming be composted orbe applied at

least 90 days before harvest. In the study, the crops were harvested within

only 42 days, so the findings may not apply to organic vegetables, the

researchers stated.

Demand for organic foods has increased by almost 17 per

cent over the past year, according to a report this week by Whole Foods Market.

The latest survey commissioned by leading organic supermarketreveals that about

two-thirds of the US' consumers bought organic goods in 2005, compared to just

over half in both 2003 and 2004.

According to the Organic Trade Association's 2004

manufacturers' survey, the organic foods industry had $10.8 billion in revenues

in 2003 and has grown at an average rate of 19.5 per cent per yearsince 1997.

Market researcher Euromonitor predicts that sales of

packaged organic foods alone will be worth $8.6 billion at retail by 2009 - up

from 5.1 billion in 2003.

Most of the participants said they opt for organic

goods in order to avoid pesticides, for their freshness, for their nutritional

benefits and in an effort to avoid genetically modified foods.

A majority of consumers also felt organic products were

of better quality, as well as being better for the health and the environment.

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=64069-antibiotics-organic-manure%20

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21 July 2005

Prevalence Of Antibiotic Resistance Surprises

It's widely accepted in the medical community that a

high level of antibiotic use is related to antibiotic resistance, but only

recently has the risk to the individual been assessed. The study, published in

the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy this month, and funded by the British

Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, has shown that patients who have taken

a prescription of antibiotics within the previous two months have double the

chance of carrying antibiotic resistant bacteria. The same effect was not seen

in patients who had taken a prescribed course of antibiotics within the

previous 12 months. The study's findings indicate that despite patient

expectations, doctors should be more discerning when prescribing antibiotics.

The study looked at whether a doctor prescribing

antibiotics increased an individual's risk of developing antibiotic resistance.

Previous research has shown that antibiotics are often prescribed for minor

ailments where they have a limited or insignificant effect. In spite of this, a

culture of antibiotic use seems to have evolved, where patients seeing doctors

with sore throats, coughs and ear-ache expect to be treated with antibiotics.

Dr Alastair Hay, from Bristol University said: " Although GPs [doctors] are

aware of the problem in the population as a whole, when deciding whether or not

to prescribe antibiotics for an individual they may consider the risk as being

minimal. " Bacterial resistance was tested in organisms from urine

samples submitted by 3,000 adults without urinary symptoms. The urinary E. coli

bacteria found in low concentrations were defined as resistant if they

demonstrated resistance to the antibiotic amoxicillin or the antibiotic

trimethoprim, or

both antibiotics. The results showed that antibiotics

prescribed in the 12 months prior to obtaining the urine sample did not

influence the resistance of organisms - presumably because the time period in

question is too long. However, the more recent use of antibiotics - within 2

months - led to a near doubling of the likelihood of resistance. The team

also found that over a 12-month period prior to sampling, each additional

tablet of trimethoprim (200mg) prescribed increased the chances of developing

resistance. In addition, the degree of resistance to amoxicillin was greater in

patients prescribed any penicillin antibiotic in the 12 months prior to urine

sampling. While the research is only preliminary, the initial results

indicate that both patients and doctors should be aware of this information

when deciding whether to prescribe and consume antibiotics.

http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20050620232026data_trunc_sys.shtml