Management of Pesticide Residues in Animal Feed and Their Implications for Food Safety in Oyo State

This study evaluates the management of pesticide residues in animal feed ingredients and their food safety implications in livestock production in Oyo State, located in Nigeria's South West geopolitical zone. The use of agrochemicals in food and feed crop production creates the risk of pesticide carryover into animal feed, which may subsequently accumulate in animal tissues and milk, posing consumer health risks. Using a professional food safety assessment design, feed ingredient samples (maize, soybean meal, groundnut cake, and dried cassava peels) from 30 feed mills and 20 farms were collected and analysed for organochlorine and organophosphate pesticide residues using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Interviews with 40 feed mill operators and farm managers assessed pesticide residue management awareness and practices. Findings revealed detectable organochlorine residues in 38 percent of maize samples and 22 percent of groundnut cake samples. Organophosphate residues were detected in 18 percent of maize samples. Residue levels in 12 percent of positive samples exceeded Codex maximum residue limits for animal feed. Feed mill operators had minimal awareness of feed residue monitoring obligations, and none maintained systematic pesticide residue testing programmes. The study recommends mandatory pesticide residue testing protocols for licensed feed mills, farmer education on pre-harvest pesticide application intervals, and integration of animal feed safety into the national food safety monitoring framework. Keywords: pesticide residues, animal feed, food safety, Oyo State, livestock.