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FOOD CHEMICALS:  GROWTH HORMONE COMMON IS U.S. MEAT REJECTED BY OTHER COUNTRIES

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Animal Drug Widely Used in US Meat the Focus of Trade Dispute

A controversial animal drug, fed to a majority of pigs raised in the United States, has become the focus of a long-running trade dispute centered on meat exports.

Ractopamine hydrochloride - used to keep swine lean and boost their growth in the last weeks before slaughter - is administered to an estimated 60 to 80 percent of pigs raised in the United States. But key trading partners, including the European Union, China and Taiwan, want assurance that it is safe, and have a zero-tolerance policy for meats with even traces of the substance. So export markets are limited, according to a report published Wednesday by msnbc.com.

The feed additive is also responsible for more deaths and illnesses among pigs than any other livestock drug on the market. It has killed or sickened more than 218,000 pigs since it was introduced, according to the analysis in Business on msnbc.com this week.

Ractopamine, part of the beta-agonist class of drugs, quickens an animal’s heart rate and relaxes its blood vessels, leading to the growth of bigger, leaner muscles on less feed.

Pigs who are given the drug in their last weeks of life produce approximately 10 percent more meat, an increase that raises profits by $2 per head, according to the drug’s manufacturer Elanco, a branch of Eli Lilly.

Animals process ractopamine rapidly after ingestion, excreting around 85 percent of it within a day. However, low levels of the drug can still be detected over a week after an animal has consumed the drug.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determined that ractopamine was safe for use in pigs 13 years ago - in 1999 - and has since approved it for use in cattle and turkeys as well…

Countries such as China and Taiwan have no threshold for ractopamine, so pork from the US with even trace amounts has been turned away.

The issue has strained the US-Taiwan trade relationship, according to the report. Taiwan began testing for the drug in meat imports last year, and pulled US beef and pork from shelves after finding traces of it…

Some U.S. food companies also avoid meat produced with the feed additive, including Chipotle restaurants, meat producer Niman Ranch and Whole Foods Markets.

 Read more »

Source: Food Safety News

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And also…For more on the background of the dispute on this controversial feed additive and residue testing, see:

Behind the Global Fight Over Livestock Drug

More on drug residue domestic testing

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