PIGSITE 22/03/21 Ractopamine: dealing with zero tolerance in global pork trade. “This really stems from the year-long epidemic with African swine fever in China,” Dr.
Daniel Nelson, swine nutritionist with Zoetis, said at the Iowa Pork Congress held in Des Moines, Iowa, early in 2020. “Some reports say that as much as 50% of their herd has been wiped out due to African swine fever. And certainly, the U.S. pork producers and packers would like an opportunity to backfill that supply of pork to China. However, they [China] have a zero tolerance for ractopamine.” NATIONAL HOG FARMER 02/09/20 Minimizing the loss of ractopamine. Last year when several U.S. pork processors announced they planned to go "ractopamine-free" to capitalize on export opportunities, the decision left many wean-to-finish operations looking for an alternative.
But as Gustavo Silva pointed out Tuesday during the Carthage Veterinary Service 30th Annual Virtual Swine Health and Production Conference, there is no "silver bullet" substitute. "It was awesome to use this because it could improve everything from average daily gain to carcass leanness, but unfortunately we are not using this product anymore and we will need to focus on the basics," says the Iowa State University fellow who is currently partnering with the Carthage Innovative Swine Solutions team. A synthetic β-adrenergic agonist, ractopamine was used to increase average daily gain, improve feed efficiency and increase carcass leanness. Barn management Make sure to have the correct phase feeding program at the right time. Adjust feeders to minimize feed wastage. ANIMAL LEGAL DEFENSE FUND - JUIN 2020 - PETITION FOR EMERGENCY RULEMAKING : Ractopamine. BLOOMBERG 22/11/17 Russia Bans Brazil's Pork and Beef on Growth Stimulant Worry.
CHINA POST 06/07/12 CAC approves 10 ppb ractopamine residue. The China Post news staff The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), a global food safety body, yesterday voted to allow 10 ppb ractopamine residue in beef and pork, a development that is expected to help the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) pass its U.S. beef amendments more easily in the Legislative Yuan.
The Codex member states voted 69-67 at a meeting held in Rome yesterday afternoon that it is safe to allow 10 ppb residue of ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing drug, in beef and pork — 40 ppb in pig and cattle livers, and 90 ppb in pig and cattle kidneys. The CAC vote is expected to help the ruling and opposition lawmakers reach a consensus on revising the Act Governing Food Sanitation to allow imports of U.S. beef products containing ractopamine. The Legislative Yuan is slated to hold an extraordinary session July 24-27 to review the revisions to the Act Governing Food Sanitation, stock gains tax bill and other key issues. PIGSITE 29/05/18 Thailand urges US to stop threatening its consumer health. News Thailand urges US to stop threatening its consumer health 29 May 2018 The Thai Swine Raisers Association are urging the US to cease trade pressure, stating that Thailand’s food safety standard is under threat In a report from the Thai Swine Raisers Association, it is claimed that the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has been putting pressure on the Thai government to lift its US pork ban, forcing Thailand to choose between securing USD 4.2 billion worth trade deal and the health of its consumers.
Last week, The USTR office accepted the request from National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) to reconsider Thailand’s trade benefit under the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), a tariff privilege that gives a competitive advantage to over 1,000 Thai products in US market. EPOCH 03/04/11 Guangzhou Continues Battle with Ractopamine, ‘Lean Meat Powder’ A worker checks pigs to be transported to South China's Guangdong Province on a truck in 2007 in Yichang of Hubei Province, China.
Recently a meat processing plant in Conghua city, Guangdong Province, found 24 pigs containing the drug ractopamine, a banned chemical agent in China that increases protein synthesis. (China/Getty Images ) On March 21, a meat processing plant in Conghua city, Guangdong Province, found 24 pigs containing the drug ractopamine, a banned chemical agent in China that increases protein synthesis. In recent days there had been over 300 food poisoning cases in Shanghai alleged due to the tainted meat. Yangcheng Evening News reported that ractopamine was found in the urine samples of 24 pigs during a routine inspection by a Conghua Animal Health Inspection Agency on March 21. BEEF CENTRAL 19/03/12 False alarm in beef ractopamine claim.
Taiwanese media reports last week suggesting that the leanness-enhancing agent, ractopamine, had been found in Australian beef in Taiwan have proven entirely false.
The importer of the beef at the centre of the issue has since claimed the ‘presence’ of the compound in an Australian beef sample was caused by ‘cross-contamination’ with beef sourced from Panama. Most read that as being code for, “I got caught substituting beef from one country for another’s.” MSNBC 25/01/12 Dispute over drug in feed limiting US meat exports. Updated on March 23: The FDA on March 14 issued a statement in response to this report, saying it had reviewed its previously published adverse drug effect numbers on ractopamine.
After excluding reports of ineffectiveness, meat abnormalities and fertility abnormalities, it said the number of animals with reports of adverse effects was 160,917. The story reflects this recent analysis by the FDA. Updated on Feb. 22: A clarification to the Jan. 25, 2012, story “Dispute over Drug in Feed, Limiting US Exports” has been issued, making clear that the adverse drug effects for ractopamine were reported to the FDA. The story adds that the FDA says such data do not establish that the drug caused these effects.
A drug used to keep pigs lean and boost their growth is jeopardizing the nation’s exports of what once was known as “the other white meat.” CORNUCOPIA 31/10/13 Ractopamine: The Meat Additive on Your Plate That’s Banned Almost Everywhere But America. [Note: Don't panic, go organic!
This additive is not allowed in organic foods.] The asthma drug-like growth additive has enjoyed stealth use in the US food supply for a decade despite being widely banned overseas. AlterNet By By Martha Rosenberg Image source:cyclonebill, Wikimedia. PIGSITE 11/07/12 Ractopamine to Start New Battle in WTO? News Ractopamine to Start New Battle in WTO?
11 July 2012 ANALYSIS - The European Union, US and Brazil could be heading for another bitter war in the World Trade Organisation over the use of ractopamine as a growth promoter for beef cattle and pigs, writes Chris Harris. Last week Codex Alimentarius set maximum levels for the use of the drug at which the commission says the meat will be safe for human consumption. In all about 27 countries around the world, including the US, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Japan and South Korea had declared that meat from animals raised using ractopamine is safe. However, about 100 other countries including the EU and China have banned its use. PIG PROGRESS 17/04/13 Rapid tests for ractopamine in pork meat. As international debate continues on the use of the feed additive ractopamine, Neogen Europe Ltd. has launched easy 10 minute tests to detect ractopamine in animal and animal feed samples.
Ractopamine is a beta-agonist drug added to feed to promote lean muscle in animals raised for meat. While many countries allow the use of ractopamine within specified limits, including the United States, regulatory agencies in other countries have banned residues of the drug, including those in the European Union, Russia, and China. “China recently followed Russia by imposing import restrictions on certain US meat products, which require documentation that the products are free of ractopamine,” said Ed Bradley, Neogen’s vice president of Food Safety.
FOOD SAFETY NEWS 04/06/13 Smithfield Sale Raises New Questions About the Future of Ractopamine. The sale of Smithfield Foods, the United States’ largest pork producer, to Shuanghui International, China’s largest meat company, raises new questions about the future of ractopamine, a controversial growth-promoting drug that is widely used in U.S. pork production and has long been the subject of trade disputes. As a report by the Food & Environment Network and NBC News explained last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved ractopamine, a beta-agonist, more than a decade ago to improve the rate at which animals convert to feed to lean meat. Two dozen other countries, including Canada and Brazil, have also approved the additive for livestock production, but China, Russia, the European Union and several other countries question its safety and refuse to accept meat from animals raised on the drug.
After converting its third slaughter plant to process only pigs not fed the additive, Smithfield Foods announced last month that it would be 50 percent ractopamine-free by June 1. FOOD SAFETY NEWS 21/12/12 FDA Petitioned to Lower Ractopamine Limits for Meat, Review Health Impacts. Animal rights and food safety groups are petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to immediately lower the allowed residue limits for ractopamine — a controversial drug used to boost growth and leanness in meat production — and to study the drug’s effects on human health and animal welfare.
The petition comes just days after the drug escalated trade tensions between the United States and Russia, which recently adopted a zero tolerance policy for ractopamine in imported meat, jeopardizing around $500 million in U.S. exports to the country. “The continued use and abuse of ractopamine in our food supply needs to be put in check,” said Elisabeth Holmes, staff attorney at Center for Food Safety, which filed the 37-page petition with the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
NOVOSTI 13/02/13 Russian Chief Sanitary Doctor Questions Ractopamine Safety. MOSCOW, February 13 (RIA Novosti) - US claims that the livestock feed additive ractopamine is safe are not convincing, Russia’s chief state sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko said on Tuesday. Russia began a temporary ban on US beef and pork imports Monday over what it says is a failure by the US food safety watchdog to guarantee that these shipments are free of ractopamine. The US government on Monday called on Russia to lift the ban. “The United States is very disappointed that Russia has taken action to suspend all imports of US meat, which is produced to the highest safety standards in the world,” US Trade Representative Ron Kirk and US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a joint statement on Monday. Onishchenko said: “We are taking that opinion into account, but it does not suit us. It is not enough convincing from the viewpoint of scientific credibility and methodology.”
NATIONAL HOG FARMER 20/02/13 Senators Call for Action on Ractopamine Meat Ban. A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing trade officials to quickly resolve Russia's recent ban on U.S. meat, according to a report from The Hill’s On the Money Blog. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and panel ranking member Thad Cochran (R-MS) were joined by 31 other senators on Tuesday in urging the U.S. Trade Representative to deal with Russia’s import ban on U.S. beef, poultry and turkey, they argue would cost the industry $600 million a year. They argue that the ban “is unfounded, not based on sound science and violates World Trade Organization rules,” they wrote in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.
“With your swift action and use of all enforcement tools available, it is our sincere hope that the issues surrounding Russia’s import ban can be quickly and decisively resolved, thereby ensuring a stable and predictable trading environment for U.S. livestock producers and exporters,” the lawmakers wrote. SGS 12/02/12 CHINA PROHIBITS PRODUCTION AND SALE OF RACTOPAMINE. GLOBAL MEAT NEWS 25/10/12 European ministers uphold EU ractopamine ban.
By Alan Osborn , 25-Oct-2012 Related topics: Industry & Markets, Safety & Legislation, Livestock, Beef, Pork, United Kingdom, France, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland, Sweden, EU The European Union’s (EU) Council of Ministers for agriculture has upheld a ban on EU meat producers using the growth-promoting drug ractopamine and on the import of meat from cattle treated with it. PIGSITE 26/10/12 Europe Slams Codex over Ractopamine Decision. Fri, 26 Oct 2012 GLOBAL - The Council of the European Union has hit out at Codex Alimentarius over its decision to set maximum residue levels of ractopamine in beef and pork because the decision was made by a slim majority of two votes. The council says that Codex standards should be set by consensus rather than a slim majority, because consensus is "a fundamental principal of the organisation".
FOOD SAFETY NEWS 01/02/13 Russia to Ban U.S. Meat Over Ractopamine Residues This Month. Russia will ban U.S. pork and beef imports starting this month over concerns about ractopamine, a veterinary drug commonly used in North America to boost growth and leanness that is increasingly controversial overseas, according to Russian media reports. NATIONAL HOG FARMER 12/07/10 Human Safety of Ractopamine Reaffirmed by Scientific Body. The Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) has reaffirmed the human safety for Elanco’s feed ingredient compound ractopamine during its 33rd session in Geneva, Switzerland, by holding the MRLs (maximum residue limits) at Step 8 with a work plan. “This consensus decision respects that the Codex independent scientific advice body, the joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), has confirmed the human safety standards for ractopamine three times,” says Jeff Simmons, president of Elanco.
“We trust the work plan will provide an opportunity for members to rise above, and bridge across, national preferences and fulfill their role in establishing international food safety standards.” NATIONAL HOG FARMER 17/08/10 Ractopamine Fed to Finishing Pigs Lowers Environmental Impact. Improvements in lean growth and feed efficiency when ractopamine hydrochloride is fed to finishing pigs are well documented.
NATIONAL HOG FARMER 06/07/12 Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Responds to Ractopamine Announcement. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a statement regarding the Codex Alimentarius Commission's adoption of standards for ractopamine. "After five years of hard work by the Codex Commission, including the U.S. LALEVA 12/07/12 Codex decides to adopt ractopamine standard against consumer objections. Health Supreme July 06, 2012. FOOD SAFETY NEWS 19/01/11 Taiwan Refuses to Reconsider Paylean Ban. Taiwan does not intend to revisit its ban on animal drug Paylean, a key Taiwanese official said this week after imported U.S. meat was found to illegally contain traces of the drug, which promotes lean muscle growth.
“Taiwan’s existing law prohibits the use of any leanness drugs,” said Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Wu-hsiung, adding that the law applies to imported and domestically produced meat. FOOD SAFETY NEWS 07/02/12 U.S. Presses Taiwan on Ractopamine Ban. FOOD SAFETY NEWS 06/07/12 Codex Adopts Ractopamine Limits for Beef and Pork. After years of scientific and political stalemate, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a UN food standards-setting body, narrowly voted to advance a residue limit for ractopamine hydrochloride, a controversial veterinary drug used in food animal production. The 69-67 vote to adopt a Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) for the beta agonist — which is approved for boosting growth and increasing leanness in pigs, cattle and turkeys — is a big win for the United States’, Brazil’s and Canada’s trade interests.
Major meat exporting countries that use ractopamine have been pushing for a global standard for several years. A Codex MRL makes it easier for the U.S. and others to challenge countries like China, the European Union and Taiwan for having zero tolerance policies for ractopamine residues in meat products. With an MRL in place, the World Trade Organization is much more likely to rule against any country that has a more restrictive policy.
FOCUS TAIWAN 15/01/11 AIT urges Taiwan to allow ractopamine in meat.