Vietnam - Ministry combats harmful lean-meat agents

 VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is speeding up its investigation into lean meat agents that have been found in many provinces and cities, while calling for further efforts to prevent the use of the banned substances.

Pig farmers face losses over banned chemicals

At yesterday’s meeting on strengthening control over lean meat agents, Nguyen Xuan Duong, deputy head of the MARD's Department of Animal Husbandry, told Tuoi Tre that the ministry has set up inspection teams to take samples and conduct numerous tests, under a directive from the government.

“We expect that in the first week of April we will finalize a detailed report for submission. In the report, In the report, we will confirm the locations of pigs that have been fed with banned agents."

Among the banned lean meat agents are salbutamol, chlenbutarol, and ractobamine, all of which belong to the group of beta-agonists, which stimulate growth and quickly develop lean meat in cattle.

These agents have been banned by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), since when they enter human bodies they affect various organs such as the brain and liver. They are especially dangerous for pregnant women.

According to some experts, most of the lean meat agents found on the market originate from China.

Quantitative analysis needed

“Although we have not yet received an official report, I have just been informed that the results of testing samples taken from the 2.5 tons of suspected pork in Dong Nai Province showed that the samples were negative in regards to the banned substance,” he said.

The food was seized for testing by the provincial market control force on March 12, he said.

The tests were made according to the quantitative analysis method of Quality Measurement Center No. 3 under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

“This is the method that can help us conclude whether a sample has been contaminated with a banned substance,” he said.

Meanwhile, other tests on pork samples conducted in Binh Duong, Long An and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces have been carried out using a different method – qualitative analysis, which gave results that were far different from those reached through quantitative analysis.

The HCMC Veterinary Department has reported that 43 percent of urine samples and 26 percent of the pork samples were tainted with the banned substance, but those results were obtained through quantitative analysis, too, he said.

Such tests only serve as research results on a small scale and cannot help to provide a correct conclusion about the actual use of the banned agents in a certain area or region.

“I want to emphasize that any conclusion about the use of the banned substance must be based on qualitative analysis, which must be carried out at specialized laboratories or centers licensed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development or the Health Ministry.”

Currently, there may be such banned substances on the market, but not in such worryingly large amounts as reported by the media, Duong said.

Since 2002, the MARD has strictly banned the use of substances belonging to the class of beta-agonists. However, the health sectors still use them in the treatment of certain diseases.

Coordination a must

Duong told Tuoi Tre that the fight against lean meat agents is the MARD’s responsibility, but other relevant agencies like the ministries of Health, Industry and Trade, Public Security, and local authorities must also strengthen their efforts in eliminating banned substances from the market, he said.

Banned substances may enter Vietnam via cross-border trade, after which they are secretly provided to breeders. They cannot reach the market through official trade, since the MARD banned them 10 years ago, he explained.

Therefore, close coordination between concerned agencies like customs, police, and the market control agency is necessary to clear banned substances out of the market.

Information on the harmful effects of the banned substance on human health should be expanded and strengthened. Inspections should be conducted right at the food racks in breeding farms, not just at feed companies or veterinary drug traders.

Authorities should require breeders, feed traders and slaughters to make written commitments stating that they will not use banned substances.

Pham Duc Binh, deputy chairman of the Dong Nai Breeders Association, said consumers should not choose to buy pork that is rich in lean meat or excessively red, since such meat could contain banned agents.

Seven pork samples test positive for banned agent

The HCMC Veterinary Department has reported that seven of the samples of live pigs taken from Tien Giang Province were found to contain lean meat agents.

The samples, in the form of pig urine, were taken randomly from the pigs that have recently been transported from Tian Giang to the city, the department said.

Since receiving the report, the provincial Veterinary Department has also taken samples from breeding farms in Cho Gao Town and other places that had provided the tainted pork to the city.

One of these farms told investigators that it had bought made-in-China feed on the market and then mixed the feed with locally produced goods before feeding its pigs.

Nguyen The Tai, the owner of another farm, said a man had provided him with feed without a trademark and with an unknown origin.

Meanwhile, Ngo Van Kiet, who also owns a farm, said he had used a kind of feed bearing the Master trademark mixed with a lean meat agent he had bought from a feed trader in the town.

Most of the farms’ owners said they had not been aware that lean meat agents have been banned from use.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre

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