Abstract
Abstract
A quantitative risk assessment of antimicrobial residues in pork liver samples from slaughterhouses in Laguna, Philippines was performed to determine the probability of occurrence of adverse effects on the population upon consumption of antimicrobial residues in pork products. A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data regarding the daily pork consumption of the population study. Meanwhile, secondary data on antimicrobial residues of quinolone, ceftiofur, florfenicol, streptomycin, tetracycline and tylosin found in pork liver samples were obtained from a previous study by Datuin (2018). Monte Carlo simulation using @RISK software was then used to calculate the estimated daily intake of the population and the risk associated with exposure to the antimicrobial residues. Results showed that the population of Laguna had a mean daily intake of 155 grams of raw pork and 92 grams of processed pork in the year 2021. Also, the calculated mean and maximum estimated daily intakes for each antimicrobial residue were within the acceptable daily intake and no hazard quotient exceeded the value of one during risk characterization. Therefore, the study concludes that antibiotic residues in pork products from slaughterhouses in Laguna pose low risk to the health of pork consumers. Nonetheless, precaution on the use of antimicrobials is still warranted, especially with the administration of tetracycline which had the highest hazard quotient out of the six antimicrobial residues.