Customs takes you to know "clenbuterol" - ractopamine

This year, the General Administration of Customs has repeatedly reported that ractopamine has been detected in imported meat products, so what is ractopamine? Why is this substance used in livestock raising? What harm does eating meat products containing this substance cause to the human body? What are the international and domestic regulations on the use of ractopamine? How did the customs department find that ractopamine remained in imported meat products and keep substandard products out of the country? Let's
follow the editor to find out.

01

What is ractopamine?

Ractopamine is a synthetic β-adrenal receptor agonist (commonly known as β-stimulant) compound, which is a low-toxic, fast-metabolizing alternative to clenbuterol developed by American pharmaceutical companies, and belongs to the second generation of clenbuterol
.
Because of its role in regulating protein synthesis, it is also known as protein repartitioner abroad, and is mainly used in the treatment of bronchial asthma, congestive heart failure and muscular dystrophy in clinical practice
.

02

Role in livestock rearing

Studies have shown that when the amount of ractopamine added in animal diets is 5-10 times the amount of clinical treatment, the nutrients in the animal body are transferred from fat to muscle, showing a nutrient redistribution effect, thereby regulating the nutritional metabolism path of the animal body, enhancing fat catabolism, promoting protein synthesis, significantly increasing the carcass lean meat rate, and improving the feed return rate, especially the effect on pigs
.

03

What are the hazards to the human body

Ractopamine is much less toxic than other Clenbuterol additives with the same function
.
Conventional doses of clenbuterol drugs can be metabolized in the body and excreted from the body, will not cause harm to the body, but excessive intake of ractopamine, the human body will have different degrees of poisoning reactions, its symptoms are similar to animal poisoning symptoms, manifested as muscle tremor, quadriplegia, tachycardia, arrhythmia, abdominal pain, muscle pain, nausea, dizziness and other symptoms, severe cases can cause high blood pressure, heart disease and even death
.

04

International use of ractopamine

At present, the maximum residual amount (MRL) standards for ractopamine in pigs and cattle developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) are: muscle 10μg/kg, fat 10μg/kg, liver 40μg/kg, kidney 90μg/kg, and the allowable daily intake (ADI) is 0-1μg/kg
.

The scope of application of ractopamine in aquaculture varies from world to world
.
In 24 countries and regions such as the United States, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, and Australia, ractopamine can be allowed to be used in livestock and poultry breeding as clenbuterol to improve the protein content and lean meat rate of animals; However, in the European Union, China, Russia and other countries, such drugs are completely banned
in animal husbandry.

05

Our country has "zero tolerance" for ractopamine

In 2002, the Ministry of Agriculture, the former Ministry of Health and the former State Medical Products Administration jointly issued the List of Drug Varieties Prohibited in Feed and Animal Drinking Water (Ministry of Agriculture Announcement No.
176), prohibiting the use
of ractopamine in animal farming.
On December 5, 2011, six ministries and commissions, namely the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Commerce, the former Ministry of Health, the former State Administration for Industry and Commerce, and the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, issued a joint announcement (No.
41 of 2011), calling for a ban on the production and sale of ractopamine
in China from now on.

06

Strictly prevent imported meat ractopamine residues

Imported meat is an effective supplement to the supply of domestic meat products, and China is a major importer of meat products, with a total of 9.
38 million tons
of imported meat in 2021.
In order to prevent ractopamine from entering the domestic market through imported meat and endangering domestic food safety, the customs department has taken a variety of measures to strictly control the situation:

The customs department strictly implements the supervision and random inspection of drug residues in imported meat products, firstly, through risk analysis, increase the detection ratio of ractopamine items of imported meat products; Second, through on-site inspection, timely sampling and laboratory testing, according to the national standard "Ministry of Agriculture [1025] Announcement - 18-2008 Detection of β-receptor agonist residues in animal-derived foods liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry", the detection limit can reach 0.
25μg/kg; Third, through follow-up disposal, meat products detected with ractopamine are destroyed or returned in accordance with the relevant requirements of the "Measures for the Administration of Import and Export Food Safety", and unqualified meat products are strictly prohibited from entering China to ensure the safety of imported meat safety
.

Tips

"Clenbuterol" is easy to remain in animal offal, and offal is usually a high-cholesterol food, and friends who love offal should stop in moderation
.
Also, don't buy meat
from unknown sources, especially below market price.
Try to buy meat of large brands and guaranteed quality, and buy imported meat products
that have been inspected and quarantined by the customs department.

(Edited by Li Chuang)