January 28, 2011

Officials detect minimal clenbuterol use in Vietnamese pork

Only few Vietnamese pig raisers are detected to feed their animals with harmful Clenbuterol, stated an official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

Hoang Van Nam, acting head of the MARD's Department of Livestock Husbandry said that Clenbuterol is banned in pig raising in Vietnam, and the ministry has build regulations for inspection and supervision of harmful to human health additives including Ractopamine, Clenbuterol and Salbutamol.

In 2010, only 1% of pork samples were detected by local authorities to contain Clenbuterol compared to over 10% from previous years, Nam said.

However, the control over food safety is not good enough in Vietnam due to lack of human capacity, observers said, adding that a large volume of pork produced in China floods markets in many localities in the Southeast Asian country.

Clenbuterol is an additive which can raise the percentage of lean meat and reduce fat in pigs. Consumption of pork contained clenbuterol will cause the kidney not function well.

However, the substance is widely used by Chinese farmers, according to the country's local news.