CHINA – Melamine-Tainted Feeds Used at Chinese Pig Farms

CHINA – Chinese authorities have reportedly caught some farmers in China giving their pigs melamine-tainted feed.

Citing Xinhua News Agency, Arirang reports that a broker named Tang bought roughly 7 tons of melamine-tainted formula in Hebei, a northern province of China, and sold 2 tons of it to pig farmers in Chungqing and Chengdu.

The amount of melamine detected in the feed was over 5-hundred times the legal limit.

The farmers say that they stopped using the contaminated formula after their pigs became ill but Chinese consumers are still worried that melamine-contaminated pigs may have entered the country’s food supply.

In 2008, several Chinese companies were implicated in a scandal involving milk and infant formula that had been adulterated with melamine from which six babies died and some 300-thousand others were sickened.

Source: ThePigSite News Desk

THAILAND – Govt Cracks Down on Illegal Use of Beta-Agonists – April 12, 2011

THAILAND – The Livestock Department will crack down on pig farms using a chemical agent to increase the redness of the meat in their pigs.

Department chief Preecha Somboonprasert said a team of livestock officials would file a complaint against owners of some pig farms in Chon Buri province found to have illegally used beta-agonist, reports Bangkok Post.

The use of such a substance would be harmful to consumers, he said. Some firms had smuggled in beta-agonist to sell to pig farms.

Health officials warned consumption of meat tainted with the substance over a long period could cause fatal heart conditions.

Mr Preecha said the department would send teams of officials to inspect pig farms nationwide. Those found to use the substance would be liable to a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of up to 10,000 baht.

Mr Preecha said the law might be amended to impose harsher punishment against pig farms using the illegal chemical agent.

Information ThePigSite News Desk

SOUTH KOREA – Korea Permits Toxin Banned in China – March 30, 2011

SOUTH KOREA – China is cracking down on two chemical additives used illegally on pig farms – and threatening to execute farmers who break the law banning their use.

But one of the dangerous chemicals is legal in Korea and fed to some domestic pigs, Korea Joongang Daily reports. The chemical, ractopamine, can cause respiratory problems or kidney malfunction in humans, even if only small amounts are ingested.

More than 150 countries prohibit the use of ractopamine, including Taiwan, Malaysia and the European Union, although 20 countries allow it, including the United States, Australia, and Brazil.

“Because many countries currently prohibit the use of ractopamine, the Korean government should reconsider [the chemical’s] safety,” said Lee Mun-han, a professor at Seoul National University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

On 15 March, the state-run China Central Television (CCTV) reported that a certain kind of lean pork marketed under the term “Genmijeo” was found to contain two hazardous chemicals, clenbuterol and ractopamine, which Chinese hog farmers mixed into animal feed.

The chemicals were banned in China in 2002.

Health officials say clenbuterol causes muscle spasms or arrhythmias even in small doses. Ractopamine can affect humans even in doses as low as 0.01 parts per million.

The CCTV report didn’t cite how many pigs in China were fed the poisonous chemicals, but a CCTV reporter visited about 10 hog farms in Nanjing city and found farmers using the chemicals.

After the report, panic spread to Hong Kong, which imports much of its pork from China, and the Chinese government announced it would execute farmers using the chemicals and others involved in their trade.

The Korean government banned clenbuterol in 2006, but it has allowed the use of ractopamine since 2001.

Jo Byeong-hun, a researcher for the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, said Korea hasn’t imported any pigs from China since 2007, but some processed foods made from Chinese pork are imported.

“Starting today, we will inspect whether the processed foods contain more than the permissible amount of ractopamine,” Mr Jo said.

Information ThePigSite News Desk

THAILAND – Thailand’s Pig Farmers Face Probe – March 25, 2011

THAILAND – The Livestock Department will crack down on pig farms using a chemical agent to increase the redness of the meat in their pigs.

Department chief Preecha Somboonprasert said a team of livestock officials would today file a complaint against owners of some pig farms in Chon Buri province found to have illegally used beta-agonist.

The use of such a substance would be harmful to consumers, he said. Some firms had smuggled in beta-agonist to sell to pig farms, according to Bangkok Post.

Health officials warned consumption of meat tainted with the substance over a long period could cause fatal heart conditions.

Mr Preecha said the department would send teams of officials to inspect pig farms nationwide.

Those found to use the substance would be liable to a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of up to 10,000 baht.

Mr Preecha said the law might be amended to impose harsher punishment against pig farms using the illegal chemical agent.

Information ThePigSite News Desk