March 9, 2012

After media reported that some animal raisers use banned additive substance in pig feeding, pork consumption in Vietnam has decreased sharply.

Many pig raisers in the northern province of Hung Yen complained that they couldn't sell their pigs as slaughtering facilities halt works, the Viet Nam newspaper reported Thursday (Mar 8).

As a result, prices of live pigs dropped from VND59,000-60,000 (US$2.84-2.88) per kilogramme last week to VND48,000-53,000 (US$2.31-2.55) per kilogramme.

The concern over food safety has increased when state media reported that some pig raisers use toxic substances in Beta agonists group, including Sabutamol as growth regulator.

These substances are banned in livestock in almost all other countries due to harmful effects on human health.