LEAN pigs in China

  

On Mar 21,  a meat processing plant in Guangzhou was checked and found the urine samples of 24 pigs taken containing the drug ractopamine, a banned chemical agent in China used to increase protein synthesis.  Prior to this investigation, 300 food poisoning cases were reported in Shanghai over the tainted meat.

Ractopamine is a substitute of clenbuterol, a form of lean meat powder.  Other known similar drugs are salbutamol and Terbutaline Sulfate.  Clenbuterol is cheaply available but easy to detect by inspecting Authority.  Most pig farmers switched to the use of Ractopamine to avoid detection during inspection though it costs more.

In the past and even in small farms in remote villages now, pig farmers like to feed the pigs with sleeping drugs and hormones so that they fall asleep easily and gain weight fast. Shining skin surface camouflages the thick fats lying beneath.

However in recent times, animals are fed with abovementioned drugs to shorten the cycle from a year to a mere 3-4 months.  They also show dramatic muscle growth with less fat, popularly known as ‘lean pig’.  Is such a common practice to get the clearance for inspection certificates by bribery.

Many research work done so far have shown the damaging effects of such drugs on humans include food poisoning syndromes like vomiting, dizziness, lethargy and trembling.  Those suffering from heart disease and high blood pressure face higher risk of deterioration.  This is because ractopamine is noted to be a cardiac stimulator, belonging to a class of drugs that binds to beta-receptors in the heart and has the effect of restricting blood vessels and quickening the heart.

Long term consumption can destroy cell structure, leading to chromosome mutations and cancer.  Ractopamine is also reported to cause severe side effects in people with glaucoma, diabetes and prostate hyperplasia.

Source:  Extract from Epoch Times

Our comments

This is not an isolated case happening to one country.  Let us look at the bigger picture now.
Ractopamine is a drug that is used as a feed additive to promote leanness by driving nutrients away from fat production and into the muscle.  The feed additive Paylean, produced by the U.S. company Elanco Animal Health, owned previously by Eli Lilly & Co, contains ractopamine hydrochloride. Paylean was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration on December 22, 1999 and approved as a growth promoter in cattle in 2003 under the name Optaflexx. Though it is fatal, more than 20 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, and Thailand allowed its usage whilst 150 other countries, including the European Union, China, Taiwan and Malaysia, prohibited its use since 2002.

Ractopamine in feed for animals is responsible for dramatic muscle growth, yet it is not a steroid or hormone, but rather a compound known as a beta agonist. Only a trace amount of ractopamine need be added for a marked increase in protein and decrease in fat accretion in animals, in particular swine.  For the last 90 pounds of live weight gain, a mere 18.5 grams of ractopamine added to a ton of feed (20 ppm) will increase protein by 24% and decrease fat by 34%.

In a recent Codex Alimentarius Commission to decide if this drug should be included on the priority list of substances for re-evaluation by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), China submitted  new food safety evidence but it ended without final adoption of a maximum residue level. The Delegation of China, supporting the European Community, briefly reported on their residues studies, which showed residues levels in muscle, liver and kidneys exceeding the draft MRLs, as well as very high levels of residues in lungs.  These countries are incidentally the largest producers of swines and consumers of pork and internal organs in the world.

A major issue raised with regards to the use of ractopamine is that there is no clearance period prior to slaughter which would rid the meat of most residues before human consumption. Whilst other drugs require a clearance period of two weeks, such a measure would severely reduce the benefits of using ractopamine.

 

Despite all the major concerns, ractopamine seems like going to stay for a long time to come due to the obvious economic effects it can provide.

 

Pork lovers.  Please check the source of supply before you take the next bite.

 

The pigs are having the last laugh……