E702 – Chlortetracycline

Description

Broad-spectrum antibiotic used in animal feed to promote growth and prevent disease

Risks

Notes

Oxytetracycline is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that was first discovered in the 1950s from a type of soil bacteria called Streptomyces rimosus. Like its cousin tetracycline, it's now produced through controlled fermentation processes where specific bacterial strains are cultivated in sterile conditions to produce this antibiotic compound, which is then purified and refined for use. Similar to tetracycline, oxytetracycline isn't directly added to your food as an ingredient. Instead, it's used in veterinary medicine to treat bacterial infections in farm animals including cattle, pigs, poultry, and fish. When animals receive this treatment, small residues might remain in meat, milk, eggs, or farmed fish, which is why it's regulated as a food additive and given an E-number. This is a synthetic antibiotic produced through fermentation, and it raises similar concerns to other antibiotics used in agriculture. Regulatory agencies worldwide have established maximum residue limits and mandatory withdrawal periods to ensure that animal products entering the food supply contain only trace amounts well below safety thresholds. The growing awareness of antibiotic resistance has led to stricter controls on agricultural antibiotic use. People with known allergies to tetracycline antibiotics should be aware, though properly regulated food products contain minimal residues.