Measurement / residue studyindependent cross-checkabstract checked I-EGG-127 standard review

Some conventional eggs in Aswan contained antibiotic residues

Monitoring antimicrobial residues in table eggs in Aswan governorate markets and their impact on egg quality and public health.

Overview

Zakaria AM et al.. Open Vet J 2023 · PMID 37304600 · DOI 10.5455/OVJ.2023.v13.i5.4

12% of conventional egg yolks tested positive in a screening test; organic eggs were all negative.

Does the study support the specific claim? Partly · Methodological quality: low

Study explained simply

What did the researchers want to find out?: Screen Egyptian eggs for residues.
How was the study done?: Market sampling, disc diffusion screening.
How many people, animals or samples were studied?: 400 eggs.
What was actually found?: Residues in 12% of conventional yolks.
How large was the observed effect?: 12% vs 0%.
What do the results mean in everyday life?: Residues occur in Egypt; enforcement of withdrawal periods matters.
What are the study's limitations?: Qualitative test; no concentrations.
What does it say about Elawady's specific claim?: Supports occurrence, not harm.
Do the results apply to Germany and Europe?: Low.
What can explicitly not be concluded from this study?: It cannot show health damage.

Authors: Zakaria AM et al.
Journal: Open Vet J
Year: 2023
Identifier: PMID 37304600 DOI 10.5455/OVJ.2023.v13.i5.4
Verification: verified – PubMed efetch 2026-10-26; Crossref works API 2026-10-26
Retracted: no
Corrections: none
Extent checked: abstract only
Conflicts of interest and funding: No competing interests declared.

Do conventional and organic table eggs in Aswan markets contain antimicrobial residues?

Study design: Measurement / residue study – Market survey with qualitative residue screening (disc diffusion)
Population: Brown table eggs from retail stores, Aswan governorate
Country: Egypt
Period: not stated in abstract
Sample size: 400 eggs (200 conventional, 200 organic)
Inclusion and exclusion criteria: not detailed in abstract

Results: All organic eggs were free of antimicrobial residues; 12% of conventional egg yolks and 8% of conventional egg whites were positive by disc diffusion assay.
Absolute risks: not reported
Authors' conclusion: Organic eggs were free of antimicrobial residues, maximising their public health benefits.

Disc diffusion is a qualitative screen: no concentrations, no MRL comparison, no exposure assessment
Single governorate

Orienting tool: none applicable
Type of assessment: simplified assessment (abstract only)
Full formal assessment: no
Overall risk of bias: some concerns
Rationale: Screening method; possible false positives from natural inhibitors.

24/200 (95% CI 8.2-17.2%) vs 0/200 (stats/C-EGG-10_residues.py); health risk not quantifiable.

Supports the factual part: some Egyptian commercial eggs contain antimicrobial residues. Does not show that the levels harm health.

EU monitoring: low non-compliance (I-RES-07).

Egypt-specific.

Confirms occurrence in Egypt; harm not demonstrated.

Multidimensional assessment
Multidimensional assessment
Authenticity of the source	verified
Methodological quality	low
Risk of bias	some concerns
Precision of results	moderate
Directness	direct
Reproducibility	unknown
Consistency with the overall evidence	consistent
Regional transferability	high
Adequacy of the interpretation (by the archive)	not applicable

Quantitative residue levels and MRL exceedance in Egyptian eggs.