Investigation of the effects of some processing conditions on the fate of oxytetracycline and tylosin antibiotics in the making of commonly consumed cheeses from the East Mediterranean.

Background And Aim: Transfer of antibiotics from raw milk to derived products is directly related to the processes involved in the manufacturing of dairy products, including East Mediterranean cheeses, since these have particular flow diagrams of production. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of skimming, pasteurization, curding, pressing, salting, cheese boiling, and whey acidification/heating on two widely used antibiotics in Lebanon, oxytetracycline (OTC) and tylosin (TYL), in the manufacture of commonly consumed cheeses in the East Mediterranean.

Materials And Methods: Four hundred and fifty kilograms of full-fat bovine milk were spiked with OTC and TYL, then skimmed and pasteurized using holder and high-temperature short-time (HTST) methods.