China
has asked Canada to stop
exporting meat, over an issue with alleged “forged” certificates, after it
said its customs officials detected the drug ractopamine in Canadian pork –
which is prohibited in China.
What is ractopamine?
Ractopamine
hydrochloride is an additive put into animal feed. It belongs to a class of
drugs called beta-agonists, according to Ben Bohrer, an assistant professor at
the University of Guelph, and president of the Canadian Meat Science
Association.
What is it used for?
In
Canada, ractopamine can be used on pork, cattle and turkeys. Animals that take
the drug grow larger and leaner, and take less feed to get there. All this is
good for farmers, as they can spend less money to get more meat from their
animals.
It’s
usually used to “finish” animals, getting in some weight gain in the last few
weeks before slaughter.
“In
the livestock production world, that’s really the major goal of most livestock
producers: to produce a product that’s efficient,” Bohrer said. “They have low
input costs or lower input costs, so they’re consuming less feed, and with less
feed, they’re producing meat that’s both larger and leaner.”
Why is it banned in China?
According
to Bohrer, China lumps ractopamine in with other drugs from the beta-agonist
family, which have been shown to have effects on human health.
“There
are some beta-agonist products that have been shown to be very dangerous if
they’re consumed,” he said. They mainly affect the cardiovascular system. “It
will speed up heart rate, increase anxiety, those types of challenges.”
But
Bohrer doesn’t believe that ractopamine should be grouped with some of these
other drugs. It has a short “half-life” in the animal, he said. An animal stops
getting fed eight to 12 hours before slaughter, he said, and by that time, most
traces of the drug would have disappeared from its body.
“The
feed has already been metabolized and it’s out of the animal’s system, so
there’s not high enough levels in the meat residue that will cause any of those
types of problems,” he said.
READ MORE: Canada wants proof of Chinese claims that
fake certificates used to ship pork, trade minister says
The European Union has also banned ractopamine, saying that the safety data isn’t good enough to support a minimum acceptable amount in meat.
Bohrer
says the drug has been extensively tested and evaluated by U.S. authorities, a
process that takes years and costs the drug developer a lot of money to go
through.
Under
an agreement with the U.S., he said, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
has accepted the FDA’s findings and permitted it for use in Canada, subject to certain
limits and restrictions on the amount that can be given and when it can be
fed to animals.
Health
Canada said in a statement that it only approves veterinary drugs like
ractopamine after “a thorough assessment of scientific evidence demonstrates
the safety — including human safety — and effectiveness of the drug.”
How common is it in Canadian pork?
According
to Bohrer, ractopamine is used in a relatively small percentage of Canadian
pork.
But
Bohrer doesn’t believe that ractopamine should be grouped with some of these
other drugs. It has a short “half-life” in the animal, he said. An animal stops
getting fed eight to 12 hours before slaughter, he said, and by that time, most
traces of the drug would have disappeared from its body.
“The
feed has already been metabolized and it’s out of the animal’s system, so
there’s not high enough levels in the meat residue that will cause any of those
types of problems,” he said.
READ MORE: Canada wants proof of Chinese claims that
fake certificates used to ship pork, trade minister says
The European Union has also banned ractopamine, saying that the safety data isn’t good enough to support a minimum acceptable amount in meat.
Bohrer
says the drug has been extensively tested and evaluated by U.S. authorities, a
process that takes years and costs the drug developer a lot of money to go
through.
Under
an agreement with the U.S., he said, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
has accepted the FDA’s findings and permitted it for use in Canada, subject to certain
limits and restrictions on the amount that can be given and when it can be
fed to animals.
Health
Canada said in a statement that it only approves veterinary drugs like
ractopamine after “a thorough assessment of scientific evidence demonstrates
the safety — including human safety — and effectiveness of the drug.”
How common is it in Canadian pork?
According
to Bohrer, ractopamine is used in a relatively small percentage of Canadian
pork.
.
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