# Antibiotic Resistance in the Farming Environment
## 7 Antibiotic Resistance in Animal and Plant Products  
When analyzing the scale of the risks associated with the spread of antibiotic resistance, their transmission through products of animal and plant origin cannot be ignored. Animal products may be one route for the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes to humans [16; 35; 119]. There are numerous data confirming the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in meat, milk, and dairy products (Table 4). Figure 4: Pathways of spreading antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes in farming environment. Procedures used in the food animal industry may contribute to the spread of antibiotic resistance [18]. [PERSON] [105] cited an Austrian study showing that 20% of ground meat samples contained ESBL-producing bacteria. A study conducted by [PERSON] et al. [126] in Southern Africa showed that strains of _Staphylococcus aureus_ isolated from samples taken at various stages of poultry meat production--from breeding through transportation, slaughter to sale of finished food products--were characterized by resistance to a number of antibiotics: more than 50% of the isolates were resistant to tetracycline, penicillin, and erythromycinomycin, while at least 30% were resistant to clindamycin, doxycycline, ampicillin, moxifloxacin, amikacin, and trimethylomorphic/sulfamethoxazole. More than 39% were multi-resistant strains. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can become a cause of meat contamination during slaughter [105] while slaughterhouses can be considered natural reservoirs of drug-resistant microorganisms and genes that determine resistance to pharmaceuticals [36]. Commensal bacteria found in livestock, carrying antibiotic resistance genes and transferred to food products of animal origin, pose a real health risk to consumers, especially given the possibility of transferring antibiotic resistance genes to potentially pathogenic microorganisms [3]. The results of studies conducted in China, India, and Ethiopia confirm that poultry and beef meat can be a factor in the transmission of drug-resistant microorganisms from livestock to humans [35]. There are known examples of transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including _Staphylococcus aureus_, to people working in the meat industry [119]. Similar to animal products, plant products are also not free from contamination by drug-resistant bacteria (Table 5). Consumption of vegetables in raw form can be a significant factor in exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria [127]. One obvious risk factor for contamination of crop products such as vegetables is the use of manure to fertilize fields [26; 64], especially if it contains pathogenic microorganisms possessing genes that determine their resistance to commonly used antibiotics [128]. It was found that vegetables grown on manure-fertilized soil showed elevated levels of both antibiotics and antibiotic resistance conditioning genes, with the highest concentrations recorded in the root portion of the plants [129]. It has been observed that antibiotic-resistant bacteria can enter the aboveground parts of the plant through the root system [130]. In this context, soil should be considered one of the important reservoirs of drug resistance determinants in agricultural environments [85]. Interestingly, antibiotic resistance traits have also been found in microorganisms that are plant pathogens. Selection of streptomycin- and oxytetracycline-resistant  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Type of Product** & \begin{tabular}{c} **Resistant** \\ **Microorganisms** \\ \end{tabular}  & **Antibiotic Resistance Profile** & **References** \\ \hline Sheep milk & _Staphylococci_ & Multi-resistant, tetM, germplasm, germplasm genes & [120] \\  & _Enterococcus_ & 80\% of the strains resistant to & \\  & _facetlis_, & sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, over 5\% resistant to & \\  & _Enterococcus_ & levofloxacin. A total of 40\% of E. faecium strains & \\  & _facetlis_, & resistant to quinupristin–dalfopristin.