Chlorocholine chloride residue distribution in eggs, breast and femur meat of laying hens determined by labelled-N estimates

________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract The distribution of chlorocholine chloride (CCC) residue or its metabolites in the meat and eggs of laying hens was studied using the N delta value (δN) and N atom % derived from N-CCC containing diets. In a completely randomised design, 20 laying hens were divided into four groups allocated four different diets namely; 0 mg N-CCC /kg feed a control diet (group A); 5 mg N-CCC /kg feed (group B), 50 mg N-CCC /kg (group C) and 100 mg N-CCC /kg (group D) for 11 days. During the seven days that followed, N-CCC diets were withdrawn and all hens were restored to feeding on the control diet. The δN excess and N atom % excess in meat and eggs of hens fed diets containing N-CCC, were higher than in the control diet after 11 days of treatment and seven days after withdrawal of N-CCC, except for the egg yolk values of hens fed 5 mg N-CCC /kg feed. The δN excess and N atom % excess of meat, egg yolk and egg albumen were dependent on dietary N-CCC concentrations and differed significantly between tissues for each of the three N-CCC concentrations examined. Femur meat δN excess and N atom % excess were similar to that of breast meat but differed significantly from that of other tissues. The results show that tissue type is a factor in CCC residue/metabolite accumulation in chicken products suggesting differences in exposure or risk of CCC on consumers. ________________________________________________________________________________