The Role of Laboratory Professionals in Preventing Contamination of Food by Antimicrobial-Resistant Microorganisms (AMRMs)
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Egyptian Society for Animal Management (ESAM), Cairo, Egypt
Abstract
Antimicrobial-resistant-microorganism (AMRM)-infected or contaminated food
that leads to livestock losses and disease/death in humans is estimated to put 31
million people at risk of food insecurity in Nigeria by the last quarter of 2024. This
study aimed to explicate the roles of food-industry stakeholders/laboratorians in
preventing food contamination and animal/human infection by AMRMs. The
objectives were to determine what food/food system, food security, and
stakeholders in the food industry are; investigate the occurrence of AMRM in food;
and elucidate preventive measures to be implemented to avoid AMRM in food. A
structured questionnaire was administered to stakeholders and baseline information
from published literature/established international standards was used to achieve
this purpose. The majority (88%) of the respondents were from the Veterinary
Teaching Hospital, University of Ilorin; all (100%) participants from the
laboratories stated they knew the meaning of food security, while 56% of
respondents that were ≤25 years old stated that AMRM could contaminate food.
Only 52% of university-educated respondents agreed they were stakeholders in the
food industry while 60% were veterinarians/medical practitioners. Reported
contamination of food by AMRMs from harvest to consumption, especially in
low/middle-income countries (LMICs) like Nigeria was by antimicrobial-resistant
Staphylococcus spp., Bacillus spp., Proteus spp., Salmonella spp., and Clostridium
spp. This was largely enhanced by the unrestricted use of antimicrobial agents in
food animals, especially as growth promoters, leading to the production of
unwholesome food, outbreaks of zoonoses, loss of livestock, and human diseases
that were foodborne. Compulsory antimicrobial susceptibility tests should be done
for isolates from food/food products to determine their suitability for use and the
presence of AMRM. The diffusion method of antimicrobial susceptibility testing
(AST) should strictly follow the International Standard Organization (ISO)
protocol, which includes using pure colonies, overnight culture of 0.5 McFarland
turbidity, and interpreting zones of inhibition using the Clinical and Laboratory
Standard Institute (CLSI) recommended breakpoints. Only certified safe and
wholesome food/food products should be passed to the public for consumption.
Universities and researchers should carry out more extension work outside
establishments’ walls to disseminate research results in food-AMRM.
Description
Keywords
AMRM, AMRM-Infected-Food, AST Standard, Food security
Citation
J. Appl. Vet. Sci., 10(1): 109-117.