December 9, 2011

A toxic substance for human health called Beta agonist is being used by a lot of Vietnamese pig raisers to feed their animal daily, the Vietnamese newspaper reported.

The pig raisers use the substance in order to get higher productivity and their animal will have higher ratio of lean meat, the association said, adding that local farmers can buy the substance freely across the country.

The use of Beta agonist in animal husbandry is already banned due to its side effect which can cause anxiety, tremor, palpitations or fast heart beat, and low blood potassium to people eating pork containing the substance.

The association chairman Le Ba Lich said that they made warning for the use of Beta agonist in 2003 but the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ignored it.

Nguyen Xuan Duong, deputy head of the ministry's Animal Husbandry Department said his agency is inspecting pig farms and yet to find any violation.

Nguyen Nhu Tiep, director of the Agriculture Products Quality Management Department, said his agency did not detect the toxic substance from 55 samples of animal feed.

However, many sources said that the substance is offered in many veterinary drug stores.