March 15, 2012

 

Vietnam to eradicate use of toxic additives in pig raising

 

 

In order to protect the health of local people, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development affirmed that it will cooperate with other ministries and agencies to wipe out the use of toxic additives in the swine husbandry.

 

Minister Cao Duc Phat made the affirmation in a meeting in Hanoi on March 13, following media's reports on the rampant use of the steroids in Dong Nai province, a major provider of pigs and pork to Vietnam.

 

Consuming the pork infused with these agents, namely Salbutamol, Clenbuterol and Ractopamine, over a significant period of time can lead to high blood pressure and heart palpitations.

 

On March 10, Dong Nai province's Market Watch detected more than 220 kilogrammes of weight gain stimulation substances for pigs in a company in Thanh Binh Commune, Trang Bom District.

 

Earlier, the Bien Hoa City Police of the Dong Nai province seized five tonnes of weight-gain stimulation substances from an enterprise in Long Binh Ward

 

An experienced pig dealer in Dong Nai province said a pig gains 1.5-2 kilogrammes a day when the chemical is used. It is usually used for a 15-day period, he said.

 

Several pig dealers said the substance is smuggled from China at VND10 million (US$500) a kilogramme. It is mixed with animal feed powder at a 1:50 ratio before being sold to farmers at VND500,000 (US$24.04) a kilogramme, earning sellers a good profit of VND15 million (US$721) a kilogramme.

 

The dealers said the chemical is not only popular in Dong Nai province, but in Ho Chi Minh City as well.

 

At another meeting last week, Minister Phat criticised the ministry-run agencies and local authorities for not working effectively to curb the situation. He also asked to conduct investigations at pig farms, pig dealers, animal feed production centres, slaughterhouses, and pork retailers.

 

Those caught using and trading banned substances in breeding face jail terms of 3-5 years under Vietnam's Penal Code, as well as cash fines between VND10-40 million (US$500-1,900).

 

Nguyen Xuan Duong, deputy head of the ministry's Husbandry Department, said the chemical made headlines in 2007 when some animal feed factories were found adding the substance to their products.

 

The situation cooled down over the next two years, or at least appeared to, as authorities beefed up surveillance. But it returned in 2011 with surging demand, Duong said.

 

"It's difficult to control the use of banned substances in husbandry. The problem cannot be solved quickly by a single agency," Duong said.

 

Experts said it would take some years more for Vietnam to control the quality of animal feeds. Vietnam currently has only 20,000 large-scaled animal breeding facilities while the remaining seven millions are small-scaled ones.