Abstract

Intensive pig production is a farming system aimed at raising large numbers of animals in enclosed and controlled facilities to maximize performance and reduce costs. However, this approach has been criticized due to concerns about animal welfare, environmental sustainability, and overuse of antibiotics. Considering the relevance of the latter, this bibliographic review aimed to evaluate the available evidence on antimicrobial resistance genes in vegetables intended for human consumption, which were previously fertilized with organic amendments from pig manure. For this purpose, a selection of scientific articles obtained from the Web of Science; website was analyzed, which provided information on fifteen vegetables, and the presence of antibiotic resistance genes. These genes were classified according to the family of antibiotics to which they present resistance to, and the resistance mechanism involved. The analyses revealed that the vegetables Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis and Allium tuberosum showed a higher abundance of resistance genes related to various families of antibiotics, identifying a total of seven. In particular, the genes were mainly associated with the groups of tetracyclines, sulfonamides, chloramphenicols, aminoglycosides, and beta-lactams. Regarding the identified resistance mechanisms, the expulsion by efflux bombs were the most prevalent. These results suggest that the consumption of vegetables fertilized with organic amendments from pig manure could become a route for the propagation of antimicrobial resistance genes, representing a potential risk to consumer health. Consequently, it is crucial to implement adequate management and treatment measures for organic amendments used in agriculture, along with regulating the overuse of antibiotics in the animal industry.