Lean meat powder information should be fully disclosed; the government must not disclose selectively
The Anti-American Beef Alliance (TAABA) found on Facebook a report on leanness-enhancing drugs in the EU compiled by the Health Division of our representative office in the EU and in Belgium. NTU physician Hsu Li-min said it is clear that opinions on the safety of Ractopamine are currently divided into two major blocs: one is the US system that advocates openness, which is the JECFA technical report covering WHO that we often see in the documents. The other is the European system, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
In the tug-of-war between the two systems, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX) plays the role of middle arbiter. Although the US system has repeatedly produced risk assessment reports demanding that CODEX reach a conclusion on the maximum residue limit (MRL) for meat, because Europe and China have repeatedly questioned the US risk assessment, CODEX has still not reached a conclusion on the maximum residue limit for meat.
We searched online and found the "Management Standards for Leanness-Enhancing Drugs and Their Use" compiled by the Health Division of the representative office in the EU and in Belgium, and provide a summary to readers for a more comprehensive understanding of leanness-enhancing drugs and ractopamine.
Introduction
Leanness-enhancing drugs are a general term for a class of veterinary drugs. Adding leanness-enhancing drugs to feed can increase the ratio of lean meat to fat in animals, reduce feed use, bring meat products to market earlier, and thereby lower costs. Leanness-enhancing drugs belong to the beta-agonists, which have a muscle-relaxing effect; in humans and animals, they are generally used to relieve symptoms of asthma or respiratory allergies. During drug testing, researchers found that mice receiving such drug treatment grew muscle rapidly, had a lower fat ratio than untreated mice, and were firmer.
Therefore, some companies developed the drug as a feed additive for use in the feed of food animals. However, the use of leanness-enhancing drugs differs from the general use of hormones and antibiotics. With hormones and antibiotics, farmers must stop using the drugs before slaughter to reduce drug residues; but leanness-enhancing drugs are added right before slaughter, with no drug withdrawal period, thus greatly increasing the risk of drug residues.
At present, international opinions differ on the addition and residue standards for leanness-enhancing drugs. Taking Ractopamine as an example, of the world's more than 160 countries, including the EU, China and Taiwan, China, the drug has been listed as a banned drug, with violators subject to fines or imprisonment; imported meat found upon testing to contain Ractopamine is also destroyed without exception. However, 24 countries and organizations worldwide, including the United States and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), allow limited Ractopamine residues.
In Taiwan, China, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine of the Executive Yuan Council of Agriculture explicitly stipulates that four leanness-enhancing drugs, Ractopamine (Paylean), Salbutamol, Terbutaline and Clenbuterol, are banned veterinary drugs, meaning "must not be used" and "must not be detected," and violators may be fined or imprisoned.
Mechanism of action of leanness-enhancing drugs
Leanness-enhancing drugs belong to beta receptor agonists. Their chemical molecular structure resembles the epinephrine and noradrenaline naturally produced by body organs, acting on specific receptors on the surface of muscle and fat cells, i.e. beta-adrenergic receptors (beta-AR). In emergency situations, organs produce these endocrine substances, sending signals to prepare the body for emergencies.
Beta-agonists mainly act in two ways: (1) indirect agonism related to endocrine substances, referred to as "indirect agonism". The effect of "indirect agonism" may be to interfere with the sensitivity of circulating concentrations and interact with muscle growth hormones, causing cells to lack certain specific metabolic hormones, affecting the body's overall metabolism, increasing protein synthesis and reducing fat accumulation. In addition, (2) beta-stimulating receptor action directly affects the relaxation of muscle cells, allowing more oxygen to enter the trachea, referred to as "direct agonism".
In humans, the components of leanness-enhancing drugs are mostly used to treat asthma, and some people illegally use them as weight-loss drugs or as drugs for athletes to strengthen muscle energy. If used in excess, these drugs containing leanness-enhancing drug components can cause hand tremors, irritability, nervousness and headaches, sometimes flushing and palpitations, and in severe cases arrhythmia, low blood potassium levels, cramps or allergic reactions. In animals, before being used as leanness-enhancing drugs, this class of drugs was originally used to treat allergic respiratory diseases in animals.
In Taiwan, China, four leanness-enhancing drugs are banned from being added to feed to improve meat quality. The following provides a detailed introduction to these four leanness-enhancing drugs:
1. Ractopamine
It is a veterinary drug. Paylean containing Ractopamine hydrochloride was approved in 1999 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and more than 20 other countries (including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and Thailand) to become a legal leanness-enhancing drug. Adding a small amount of Ractopamine to feed can increase the muscle ratio to a considerable degree; adding 18.5 grams of Ractopamine to 1 ton of feed (20ppm), taking a weight gain of 41 kg as an example, increases protein mass by 24% and reduces fat by 34%.
However, most countries in the world oppose the use of Ractopamine. An April 2009 report by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) pointed out that Ractopamine is a cardiac stimulant, can bind to beta receptors in the heart, can restrict vascular action and accelerate heartbeat. Food animals, laboratory animals and humans all show similar reactions to Ractopamine. In addition, EFSA suspects that Ractopamine may be carcinogenic, and that the drug causes physiological stress in animals and harms animal welfare.
According to the EFSA report, the currently acceptable daily intake (ADI) does not take into account some subpopulations that are particularly sensitive to Ractopamine. Due to the lack of human studies, an objective acceptable daily intake and maximum residue limit cannot be calculated. According to this report, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX) suspended the establishment of management standards for Ractopamine.
2. Clenbuterol
It is a human and veterinary drug. Clenbuterol is often used to relax smooth muscle; it is a decongestant and bronchodilator. It can increase aerobic respiration capacity, stimulate the central nervous system, increase blood pressure and oxygen transport, and is sometimes used as a sympathomimetic. In addition, it can increase fat metabolism and increase the body's basal metabolic rate. Overuse can cause symptoms such as muscle tremors, headaches, dizziness and gastrointestinal discomfort. People who take Clenbuterol on their own for weight loss or to enhance athletic performance often experience dizziness, vomiting, night sweats, palpitations, tachycardia, and myocardial infarction.
In addition, Clenbuterol is also used by veterinarians as a bronchodilator to treat allergic respiratory diseases in horses. It is a non-steroidal anaerobic respiration and metabolism catalyst, but its mechanism of action is not yet clear. Because it increases the ratio of muscle to fat, it is also often illegally used as a leanness-enhancing drug. In 2006 and 2009, food poisoning incidents caused by pork or pork offal contaminated with Clenbuterol broke out in Shanghai and Guangdong, China, respectively. In the United States, sporadic food contamination incidents have also occurred, so the drug is currently banned for use as a drug, and the International Olympic Committee has also listed Clenbuterol as a banned drug for athletes.
3. Salbutamol
It is mainly a human drug. Salbutamol is a short-acting beta receptor agonist used to relieve bronchospasm caused by asthma and obstructive pulmonary disease. Salbutamol is the first selective beta agonist to come on the market and has an immediate effect on treating asthma, so it has been used to this day. Clinically, in addition to being used as a reliever related to asthma diseases, Salbutamol is also used in obstetrics as a tocolytic to counter uterine contractions, and in emergency care, medical staff also use Salbutamol to treat patients with a history of asthma.
Although Salbutamol has many uses, it also has many side effects. Its side effects include tremors, nervousness, headache, muscle cramps, dry mouth and palpitations. Some patients have symptoms such as tachycardia, arrhythmia, flushing, myocardial ischemia, insomnia and absent-mindedness. In extremely rare cases, patients have allergic phenomena such as bronchospasm-like reactions, hives, angioedema, hypertension and fainting. When the dose is too high, patients may experience symptoms of low blood potassium.
Like Clenbuterol, Salbutamol is also used as a weight-loss or muscle-strengthening agent. Abuse can be detected in blood or urine.
4. Terbutaline
It is a human and veterinary drug. Terbutaline is also a beta receptor agonist with a bronchodilating effect. It is used to treat asthma and can also be used in gynecology as a tocolytic. Side effects include tachycardia, nervousness, tremors, headache, high or low blood sugar, and low blood potassium.
Management standards for leanness-enhancing drugs in various countries
The United States, Canada and other countries that allow the legal use of Ractopamine raised a "specific trade concern" regarding the MRL for Ractopamine in 2007 at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). These countries demanded that the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) establish MRLs for leanness-enhancing drugs based on the risk assessment report of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).
The EU and China, which regard Ractopamine as a banned drug, believe it should be considered cautiously, but do not wish to influence the discussion within Codex. EU Directive 96/22/EC explicitly prohibits the use of Ractopamine outside medical use, including for promoting lean growth in animals, and prohibits the import of meat containing Ractopamine. China explicitly banned the addition of Ractopamine to animal feed and drinking water in 2002, and in December 2009 the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the General Administration of Customs also issued a ban on the import and export of Ractopamine. Taiwan, China also listed four leanness-enhancing drugs including Ractopamine as banned drugs in 2006 and prohibited the import of meat containing leanness-enhancing drugs.
After the WTO meeting ended, the European Commission commissioned EFSA to review the JECFA report and, with reference to other relevant materials, conduct a comprehensive assessment of the safety of Ractopamine. This report was released in April 2009. EFSA found that JECFA's assessment was not thorough and very likely underestimated the MRLs established for Ractopamine and the acceptable daily intake for humans. In August of the same year, CODEX announced the suspension of a decision on the MRLs for Ractopamine.
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