Brazil Welcomes Ractopamine Ruling

BRAZIL - Brazilian exporters of pork and beef have welcomed the ruling by the Codex commission that ractopamine can be used in raising pigs and cattle.

11 July 2012

1 minute read

South America

Codex has set maximum limits for the use of ractopamine, which stimulates the animals' weight gain and reduces production costs, worldwide.

After four years of negotiations, the limits was set by a majority of two votes.

Codex concluded by means of scientific research conducted by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the FAO/WHO (JECFA) that the use of ractopamine has no impact on the health of consumers.

In Brazil, the use of ractopamine on pig farms has been allowed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) for 10 years. For feedlot cattle, the application was approved in 2011.

"The whole supply chain will benefit because they already use this technology and now we have our parameter as an international benchmark. It was an important achievement and the Ministry of Agriculture participated actively so that these standards were adopted," said the head of the Division of Control of Additives, Suzana Bresslau.

The United States also allows the mixture of ractopamine in feed for pigs and cattle, but in the European Union and China, major importers of meat, it is banned.

However, the Brazilian agriculture ministry said that an importing country can not prohibit the entry of meat containing the substance within the standards allowed.