Ivermectin residues in bovine and pig tissues: quantitative exposure assessment and risk characterization

Abstract

Ivermectin (IVM) is one of the most common drugs in food-producing animals to prevent, control, and treat parasitic diseases in many countries. This study aimed to perform a quantitative exposure assessment and risk characterization of IVM residues in bovine and pig tissues using a stochastic simulation model. Consumption surveys and bovine and pig tissue sampling were conducted in different cities of Buenos Aires Province (Argentina). IVM residues were quantified by HPLC with fluorescence detection. The proportion of bovine and pig tissues containing IVM residues, IVM concentration, and stability of IVM after different cooking methods, as well as the consumption of beef, pig, and other edible tissues, were modeled. Of 691 samples, 13.7% had quantifiable drug residue levels and 1.9% had IVM concentrations above the MRL. In bovine tissues, median concentrations of 2.6 µg/kg, 9.9 µg/kg, 73 µg/kg, and 12.1 µg/kg were detected in meat, fat, liver, and kidney, respectively. Additionally, pig samples exhibited median concentrations of 2.36 µg/kg for meat and 9.95 µg/kg for fat. Conventional cooking cannot be considered a safeguard against the ingestion of IVM residues in animal tissues. The probabilistic model suggests that the risk of consumer exposure to IVM residues in bovine and pig tissues is negligible.