Tetracycline antibiotics transfer from contaminated milk to dairy products and the effect of the skimming step and pasteurisation process on residue concentrations.

The presence of antibiotics in raw milk and milk derivatives poses a threat to human health and can negatively affect the dairy industry. Therefore, the main object of this study was to investigate the transfer of oxytetracycline (OTC), tetracycline (TC), chlortetracycline (CTC) and doxycycline (DC) from raw, experimental milk contaminated with tetracyclines (TCs) to different dairy products: cream, butter, buttermilk, sour milk, whey, curd and cheese. Additionally the effect of the skimming process on TCs concentrations was tested, as well as the influence of low-temperature long-time pasteurisation. The analyses of TCs in milk and dairy products were performed by an LC-MS/MS method. In order to determine TCs residues in dairy products, an analytical method was developed with the same extraction step for all matrices. TCs molecules were inhomogenously distributed between the milk derivative fractions. The highest concentrations were determined in curd and cheese in the ranges 320-482 µg/kg and 280-561 µg/kg, respectively. Low levels of TCs in butter and whey were observed (11.8-41.2 µg/kg). TCs were found in sour milk (66.0-111 µg/kg), cream (85.0-115 µg/kg) and buttermilk (196-221 µg/kg) at much higher levels than in butter and whey, but lower than in curd and cheese. During the skimming process, the highest yield of cream was obtained after the raw milk was held at 2-8°C for 24 h. The differences in concentrations of TCs between whole milk and skimmed milk, expressed as percentages of recovery, were below 19% (recoveries in excess of 81%). The highest content was observed in milk and cream skimmed at 2-8°C. The degradation percentages for TCs during the pasteurisation process (63°C for 30 min) were below 19%.