Farmer:
Don’t wreck industry
Saturday, 28 Oct 2006
MALACCA: A pig farmer here is appealing to others in the
industry to stop using beta-agonist in their animal feed due to the health
risks.
Federation of Livestock Farmers Associations of
Malaysia's Malacca branch vice-chairman of the pig unit, Lim Oh Pah, 51, said
he was speaking out on the matter as it could affect the interests of industry
in the long run.
Despite the risk of being criticised by his peers, Lim
called on the federation to ensure that pork sold was free of the banned
substance. He also urged the Veterinary Services Department to step up
enforcement to check the abuse of beta-agonist.
“I urge all pig farmers to stop using beta-agonist for
short-term gains. If all consumers decide not to eat pork because of
beta-agonist, that would be the end of the pig farming industry,” he
added.
On Thursday, Malaysian Pork Sellers Association
chairman Goh Chui Lai claimed that about 70% of locally bred pigs were still
fed with beta-agonist, used as a growth enhancer.
In Petaling Jaya, Datuk Dr Lee Chong Meng said
yesterday that the beta-agonist used in pig feed was “unrefined and high in
dosage.”
Dr Lee, who is MCA chairman for Traditional
Agriculture and Agro based Industries Committee, urged the Health Ministry to
go after animal feed producers who added the banned substance to their products
and pharmacies which imported beta-agonist and sold it to farmers.
“Only China and India are producing the drug. We don’t
want Malaysia to be a dumping ground,” he said.
Pig farmers, he noted, preferred to use beta-agonist
which cost RM30 per tonne instead of Ractopamine, which cost RM120 per
tonne.
He also said pork that contained beta-agonist could be
differentiated through its colour, texture and taste.
“The normal uncooked pork is reddish, has about 2cm
layer of fat, and the muscle is flexible when pressed. The cooked meat is
succulent and tasty.
“Pork with beta-agonist has less than 1cm fat and is
dark red. It is tough and not elastic. It is also tasteless,” he
explained.
Dr Lee said that in the Klang Valley, 3,000 pigs were
slaughtered each day and the official abattoir slaughtered 1,700 pigs.
The rest were slaughtered in illegal abattoirs to
avoid being caught for using beta-agonist, he claimed.
“What are the local councillors doing about it? The
enforcement is weak,” he said.
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