November 6, 2015

Banned substances in animal breeding on the rise in Vietnam

Use of banned substances in animal breeding has reached an alarming level and preventive measures are urgently needed, delegates said at a recent seminar held in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam News reports.

Dr. Vuong Nam Trung, head of the Nutrition and Animal Feed Faculty of the Institute for Animal Sciences for Southern Viet Nam, said that while Vietnam had banned the use of growth promoters, including Clenbuterol, Salbutamol and Ractopamine, in husbandry for more than a decade, they are, however, still being widely used by pig breeders.

No cases of food poisoning due to these substances have occurred, but residue on meat products have been reported, according to Trung.

Le Ba Lich, chairman of the Viet Nam Animal Feed Association, said both small breeders and big farms were using the substances.

Lax supervision of management agencies and the desire for higher profits had contributed to increased use.

Nguyen Thi Hong Tham, director of An Ha Services Co. Ltd, which purchases all pigs from households practising VietGap standards, said that fines for violations had not been high enough.

At a seminar organised by Thanh Nien (Youth People) newspaper, Lich had called upon breeders, slaughterhouses and animal feed production establishments not to use the banned substances.

He said that consumers would shun unsafe products and as a result the domestic husbandry industry would lose in its home market.

Delegates at the seminar also asked the Ministry of Health to tighten control over the import of Clenbuterol and Salbutamol, as companies are allowed to use these banned substances in medication production.

They also suggested stepping up the development of closed breeding chains to help cut costs and enable better quality control.