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Wednesday, 14 August 2019

Penggalak besar




11-Jun-2004

 The New Straits Times






Livestock breeders have not been using beta-agonist in their animal feed since April. Federation of Livestock Farmers' Association of Malaysia (FLFAM) former adviser Datuk Dr Lee Chong Meng said today that he had a meeting with livestock breeders late last year and it was concluded that beta-agonist was harmful. 

The meeting was held with members of the Health Ministry's technical evaluation committee to discuss use of beta-agonist in animal feed. 

Dr Lee said that according to statistics made available at the meeting, about 70 per cent of samples taken from pigs, between May and June last year, showed high levels of beta-agonist in the animals. 

Thirty-seven samples were taken in the surprise checks and 26 tested positive for the drug. Most of the sampled meat were from farms in Selangor, Perak, Johor and Penang. 

"We then recommended the use of ractopamine as an alternative to beta-agonist," he said at a Press 

Press conference. "Ractopamine will not endanger the health of livestock and its consumers. The animals' meat will also be tender and juicier." 

He said the substance was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in animal feed. 

Last Wednesday, the Government banned livestock breeders from using beta-agonist, after 81 per cent of recent samples tested positive for the drug. 

Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek had stated that the abuse had been rampant and alarming. 

Beta-agonist, sometimes used as a growth stimulant in pigs and cattle, has been banned from poultry farms since 1996. 

The Cabinet directive followed revelations that some consumers could suffer from headache, dizziness, palpitations, breathing difficulties after eating meat containing the drug. The meat may also prove fatal to sufferers of asthma and heart disease. 

Beta-agonist is a bronchodilator medicine, which doctors use to dilate airways to help relieve the symptoms of shortness of breath. 

In Johor Baru, pig breeders in the country assured the public that local pork was free of beta-agonist. 

The breeders, who are members of the FLFAM, said they had stopped using the drug from this year following a directive by the Veterinary Services Department. The federation represents 17 associations and 800 pig farmers nationwide. 

Its president Lee Ah Fatt claimed that pork samples tested positive for the drug, as announced by Dr Chua recently, were samples taken before this year. 

"We admit that there was rampant use of the drug before. But now, the issue does not arise because we have complied with the department's orders and have totally stopped using the drug," he said. 



The New Straits Times 

11 June 2004





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