Investigation of the Persistence of Closantel Residues in Bovine Milk Following Lactating-Cow and Dry-Cow Treatments and Its Migration into Dairy Products

Closantel is a veterinary drug used to treat liver fluke in cattle and sheep. A provisional maximum residue limit (MRL) of 45 μg/kg in milk has been set by the European Union. The purpose of this study was to investigate the persistence of closantel residues in milk and the migration of residues into milk products. Following dry-cow treatment, residues ranged from undetectable to 8.7 μg/kg at the first milking. Following lactating-cow treatment, residues detected ranged from 278 to 482 μg/kg at day 1 post-treatment and were detectable above the MRL for 52 days and detectable for 198 days. At day 2 and day 23 post-treatment, the milk was collected and dairy products manufactured. Closantel residues concentrated in the cheese, butter, and skim milk powder. The results indicate that closantel is best used as a dry-cow treatment.