# The Invisible Threat of Antibiotic Resistance in Food
## 3 Antibiotic Resistance in Traditional Foods
### Antibiotic Resistance of Foodborne Pathogenic Bacteria in Meat  
In recent years, there has been an observed increase in antibiotic resistance among pathogens present in meat and meat products. This phenomenon can be attributed to the excessive and unregulated use of antibiotics in the food production process. Pathogenic bacteria present in meat such as _Salmonella_, _Campylobacter_, _E. coli_, and _L. monocytogenes_ have demonstrated resistance to important antibiotics such as tetracyclines and sulfonamides, which are essential for effective treatment [194]. _Enterococcus_ species, _Enterococcus ficeium_ and _Enterococcus faecalis_, showed resistance to antibiotics such as vancomycin [195; 196]. A substantial number of studies have demonstrated the role of meat in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance in the world of food safety. [PERSON] et al. [65] investigated antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria (isolated from raw kebab and hamburger samples) in Iran. _E. coli_ had the highest prevalence, with 70% of kebab and 48% of hamburger samples positive for this bacterium. The study showed high resistance to antibiotics such as amoxicillin, penicillin, and cephalexin, with the _blaTEM_ gene as the most common resistance gene in _E. coli_ and _Salmonella_ isolates. In a similar study, _Campylobacter_, _E. coli_, _Listeria_, and _Salmonella_ were identified in various samples taken from food desert retail outlets in Virginia, USA [197]. Resistance to ampicillin and tetracycline was predominant, with higher contamination rates in smaller private markets than in supermarkets. This fact underlines the importance of food safety regulations in different retail settings [197]. In a study, [PERSON] et al. [198] focused on retail beef and mutton, and pathogens that have mobile antimicrobial resistance genes. They identified _Klebsiella_ spp. and _Staphylococcus_ spp. as the dominant species in the samples, with resistance to antibiotics such as tetracyclines. The presence of the extended-spectrum \(\beta\)-lactamase (ESBL) gene was also detected in the _Klebsiella pneumoniae_ species, which is an indicator of the possible spread of resistance through MGEs [198]. Research on antibiotic resistance was conducted on different meat samples. [PERSON] et al. [199] investigated _E. coli_ O157 in cattle, beef, and humans in Ethiopia. The study revealed that _E. coli_ was prevalent in cattle (7.1%) and beef (6.3%), with genetically similar strains detected in all samples. This finding suggests the potential for transmission through the consumption of beef. The majority of _E. coli_ samples that are found to be positive for the _stx2_ gene, which is associated with the production of Shiga toxin, have the potential to cause severe illness in humans [199]. [PERSON] [200] investigated the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in _L. monocytogenes_, _Salmonella enterica_, and _E. coli_ O157 in imported beef cattle in Jordan. This study showed a high prevalence of resistance to multiple antibiotics in _Salmonella_ and _E. coli_, with resistance to antibiotics such as nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, and ceftaxone [200]. The problem of antibiotic resistance is also present in poultry. [PERSON] et al. [201] found high levels of resistance in _Salmonella_ isolated from chicken hatcheries, while [PERSON] et al. [202] detected resistance to carbapenems and colistin in _E. coli_ strains from Chinese poultry farms. These findings coincide with global trends in AR, which highlight the need for better and stronger regulation of antibiotics in the meat industry [203; 204]. [PERSON] et al. [66] studied the distribution of antibiotic resistance in _Enterococcus_ species in poultry treated with different antibiotics. They found that _Enterococcus fracium_ and _Enterococcus faecalis_ are the most common species that are resistant to ciprofloxacin, macrolides, penicillin, and tetracycline. Similarly, [PERSON] et al. [67] investigated the molecular characteristics of _Enterococcus faecalis_ isolated from chicken in China.