Activists Seek Lower Ractopamine Limits in Meat
The Center for Food Safety (CFS) and the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF)
are petitioning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an immediate
reduction in the allowable levels of ractopamine—a controversial drug used
to boost growth and leanness in meat production—and to study the drug’s
potential effects on human health and animal welfare.
The petition was reportedly filed days after Russia announced that it would
require meat it imports to be tested and certified free of ractopamine—a
move that jeopardizes the more than $500 million worth of U.S. beef and pork
exported to that country annually.
According to CFS staff attorney Elisabeth Homes, “The continued use and
abuse of ractopamine in our food supply needs to be put in check. FDA must
do its job of assessing risks, questioning health impacts, and providing better
solutions for our food system. American families and, potentially, the nation’s
economy are at risk.”
CFS and ALDF say that ractopamine is fed to an estimated 60 to 80 percent of
U.S. pigs and has resulted in more reports of sickened or dead pigs than any
other livestock drug on the market. “Ractopamine effects may include toxicity
and other exposure risks, such as behavioral changes and cardiovascular,
musculoskeletal, reproductive, and endocrine problems.”
FDA spokeswoman Shelly Burgess said the agency had extensively evaluated ractopamine before approval and “continues to monitor the safety and effectiveness of animal drugs like ractopamine” after they receive FDA approval.
About 160 countries reportedly ban or restrict the use of ractopamine,
including the European Union, China, Taiwan, and Russia. See Animal Legal
Defense Fund News Release, December 20, 2012.
