Russia Bans Ractopamine - In all U.S. beef, pork and turkey

Posted by TahoeBlue

http://www.ag.senate.gov/newsroom/pr...opamine-letter

Chairwoman Stabenow, Ranking Member Cochran Urge USTR to Quickly Address Russia’s Unscientific Import Ban on US Beef, Poultry, Turkey

Ban Will Cost U.S. Livestock Industry $600 Million Annually
Tuesday, February 19, 2013

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On December 7, 2012, Russia announced it would begin enforcing a zero-tolerance standard for trace amounts of ractopamine, an important feed additive for domestic livestock production.

This decision contradicts generally accepted scientific conclusions and Russia’s obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The imposition of a zero-tolerance standard is inconsistent with the WTO’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement and is, in practice, an import ban. In a subsequent announcement made late last month, Russia has now effectively banned U.S. beef, pork and turkey imports as it imposes its new zero-tolerance standard. With this trade worth $600 million annually, Russia’s standard is an egregious trade barrier with no apparent scientific merit.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of ractopamine in livestock in 2000, over a decade ago. Today, 27 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Australia and Canada, have reached the same conclusion that meat from animals fed this beta-agonist is safe for human consumption. Most notably, on July 6, 2012, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX) adopted maximum residue levels (MRL) for ractopamine, resulting in a scientifically-based, international standard for trace amounts of this feed additive.

The United States must do everything it can to defend its rights in both the WTO and CODEX and prevent non-science-based trading practices from other trading partners, including Russia. Further, we must demonstrate to Russia that its newfound commitment to WTO membership includes adherence to science-based standards, such as the CODEX MRL for ractopamine.

With your swift action and use of all enforcement tools available, it is our sincere hope that the issues surrounding Russia’s import ban can begin to be resolved, thereby ensuring a stable and predictable trading environment for U.S. livestock producers and exporters. We look forward to working with you to resolve this critical issue in a timely manner.
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Sincerely,

Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Mark Udall (D-CO)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Al Franken (D-MN)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
John Boozman (R-AR)
Deb Fischer (R-NE)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Kay Hagan (D-NC)
John Thune (R-SD)
Roger Wicker (R-MS)
Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Mark Pryor (D-AR)
Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND)
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Michael Bennet (D-CO)
Jerry Moran (R-KS)
Mike Enzi (R-WY)
Rob Portman (R-OH)
Jim Inhofe (R-OK)
Dan Coats (R-IN)
John Isakson (R-GA)
John Hoeven (R-ND)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Roy Blunt (R-MO)
Joe Donnelly (D-IN)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ractopamine

Ractopamine is a drug that is used as a feed additive to promote leanness in animals raised for their meat. Pharmacologically, it is a beta-adrenoceptor agonist. It is the active ingredient in products known as Paylean for swine and Optaflexx for cattle, developed by Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company, for use in food animals for growth promotion.

Ractopamine has been banned in the European Union, Taiwan, mainland China and Russia
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Regulatory authorities in 80 countries, including the EU, have banned ractopamine.[5]

However, 27 countries, including Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Canada, the United States and many others, have determined that meat from animals fed ractopamine is safe for human consumption
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August 2012 Taiwan's legislature passed amendments to the food safety act allowing ractopamine in beef.[citation needed]

Recently, Russia decided it might accept only beef and pork imports that are certified free of the additive ractopamine
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta-agonist

Beta-adrenergic agonists are a class of sympathomimetic agents which act upon the beta adrenoreceptors.[1] In general, pure beta-adrenergic agonists have the opposite function of beta blockers. Beta adrenoreceptor agonist ligands mimic the action of epinephrine and norepinephrine signaling in the heart, lungs and smooth muscle tissue, with epinephrine being the highest affinity. The activation of β1, β2 and β3 activates the enzyme, Adenylate cyclase. This in turn leads to the activation of the secondary messenger Cyclic adenosine monophosphate and induces smooth muscle relaxation and contraction of the cardiac tissue.

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/busi...nt-319934.html
Ukraine to check Brazil meat suppliers for ractopamine content
Feb. 6, 2013, 11:20 a.m. |

Ukraine plans to check Brazil companies that supply meat to Ukraine for ractopamine.

Russia's Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight Service (Rosselkhoznadzor) reported that First Deputy Agricultural Policy and Food Minister of Ukraine Ivan Bisiuk announced the checks at a meeting with Rosselkhoznadzor Chief Sergei Dankvert in Moscow on February 4, 2013.

According to the report, Bisiuk said that Ukraine has placed the same requirements on the absence of ractopamine in meat supplied by the largest meat supplier to Ukraine – Brazil – as Russia. The press release says that at present, Brazil supplies 170,000 tonnes of pork per year to the Ukrainian market.

"Dankvert and Bisiuk agreed that actions methods in checks of Brazil companies should be coordinated," reads the report.

At the meeting, the sides expressed alarm at the fact that after the introduction of temporary restrictions on supply of U.S. meat products to Russia, there is a danger of having meat containing ractopamine supplied from the United States via Ukraine.
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http://www.ellinghuysen.com/news/articles/140960.shtml
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Rosselkhoznadzor, explains why ractopamine is dangerous to humans:

"Ractopamine is a synthetic highly active pharmacological agent that helps pork producers to drive their net profits up by around 10%. But the profits left aside, its benefits for consumers are fairly dubious.

Ractopamine has a strong impact on human body. Medicine uses drugs with just the opposite mechanism of action, particularly in cardiology.

So we have all the reasons to join the measures that other countries and blocs of countries, including China and the European Union, have already introduced."
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North American farmers still have time to follow the example of their Brazilian colleagues. By the way, Canada supplies ractopamine-free meat to countries that have banned ractopamine. True, cattle-breeders will have to adjust their contracts with fodder producers and introduce other changes. But the huge Russian meat market is worth the effort.