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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