September 22, 2010

Hormone growth promotants remain valuable in Australia's beef sector

The value of hormone growth promotants (HGPs) in assisting beef yield, or their safety in food, is still intact in 40 years of widespread use worldwide, plus repeated scientific studies, beef industry and animal health officials said.

"HGPs have been reviewed here and overseas so many times as part of the regulatory process they'd have the squeakiest clean bill of health of almost any product I know," said Animal Health Alliance chief executive officer, Dr Peter Holdsworth.

Coles' major supermarket rival, Woolworths, also confirmed it had no problems with the safety or eating quality of beef produced with assistance of HGPs and it won't follow its competitor's move to ban such lines.

Woolworths did not want to "dictate how producers run their businesses".

Dr Holdsworth said the credibility of HGPs was reinforced this week by a newly released fact sheet from the Federal Government's Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) in the wake of Coles ban announcement.

"The APVMA must be completely satisfied on a plethora of different consumer safety and user safety issues before animal health products are approved for release-and this scientific work for HGPs has been revised and repeated many times over the years," he said.

Dr Holdsworth said given HGPs were mostly used in Australia to boost beef production from herds grazing in harsher northern or western climate zones, or feedlots, logic suggested Coles may be about to shift its beef buying activities towards southern States.

"It's pretty clear from the reaction that farmers have given HGPs that they appreciate the advantages these products provide to productivity. It will be interesting to see how Coles follows through, given this issue seems to be developing into a bit of a standoff with the cattle industry," he said.

Woolworths would not take a stand against HGPs because such a move would "ultimately add to the costs of our suppliers", among other reasons, said spokesman, Luke Schepen.