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UPDATE (2013-02-04):
Russia will ban imports of U.S. turkey due to
concerns about the use of the feed additive
ractopamine, Russia's Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary
Surveillance Service (VPSS) said in a statement on
Monday.
The service will impose a temporary ban on U.S.
turkey starting from February 11, it said.
It earlier decided to ban imports of U.S. beef and
pork from the same date for the same reason.
...Use of the animal
feed additive ractopamine only benefits meat
producers and has negative effects on humans, a
British professor who sits on a European Food Safety
Authority (EFSA) panel said yesterday.“Ractopamine
usage benefits producers, but not consumers. It is
bad for animal welfare and has some bad effects on
humans,” Donald Broom, a professor at the University
of Cambridge’s department of veterinary medicine,
concluded in his 30-minute brief at a forum in
Taipei...
...Citing EU research data, Broom said that
beta-agonists cause meat to have a higher water
content, which effectively penalizes consumers, who
for pay more per unit of weight...
...Research results also showed that ractopamine use
increases human anxiety, he said, adding that
animals treated with the drug are more active, more
difficult to handle and find it harder to deal with
adverse situations...
...That is why ractopamine is banned in 160
countries, including EU member states, and
clenbuterol, another beta-agonist which is much more
persistent in animal carcases, is banned in almost
every country, he said... (The Taipei Times)
(2013/01/30)
Russia could ban import of U.S. and Canadian beef
and pork if producers do not certify them free of
the feed additive ractopamine.
Alexey Alexeyenko, the spokesman for Russia's
Veterinary and Phyto-Sanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS),
said chilled products could be banned from February
4 and frozen meat by February 11.
Ractopamine is a growth stimulant used to make meat
leaner which is banned in some countries because of
concerns that residues could remain in the meat and
cause health problems.
Russia's opposition to any ractopamine residue in
pork has been well documented in recent months by
the U.S. Meat Export Federation.
Russia's veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance
service announced a zero-tolerance policy for the
residue a year ago and the country barred imports
from a U.S. pork producer as recently as September
after residues were detected in a shipment, the
group said.
The Russian ban, which would require certification
that imported beef and pork is ractopamine-free,
would essentially ban all imports from the United
States since there currently is no testing program
in place for exported meats.
For more information
http://www.nasdaq.com/article/russia-may-halt-imports-of-us-beef-pork-20121207-00813#.UQfvtFItKnB
http://rbth.ru/
The Taipei Times
(MDN)
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