November 6, 2009

More than 10 percent of pork tested in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, this year has been found containing clenbuterol that was fed to the animal to keep their meat lean, officials said Wednesday (Nov 4).

HCMC Animal Health Department had taken nearly 500 samples of pork from markets and slaughterhouses in the city and around 50 tested positive for the substance, the department told a meeting with HCMC Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and local pork traders.

The figure was down 30 percent compared to 2008 but the department cautioned that the contamination could be higher as the establishments were informed of inspections in advance and could have taken evasive action.

More than 100 pork traders at the meeting were asked not to buy pigs that were fed with the chemical and cooperate with the city authorities to track down farms that used the chemical, which is prescribed to patients with breathing disorders as a decongestant and bronchodilator, but also used as an anabolic and metabolism accelerator.

Clenbuterol accelerates the catabolism of fat in pigs, which not only shortens growth time but also increases the sale price of pork and pig organs.