December 7, 2015
Vietnamese company suspended for selling illegal feed additive for pigs
For selling salbutamol to companies which then sold the controlled substance as a feed additive in Vietnam, Phuong Dong (Oriental) International Pharmaceutical Company had its license suspended by local authorities, Thanh Nien News reported.
The drug- originally purposed for treating asthma- is used as a leanness-enhancing substance in pork.
It was discovered that Hanoi-based Phuong Dong failed to report to the Ministry of Health an undisclosed 200kg amount of salbutamol after an inspection was launched over concerns of increased use of the substance in pighusbandry.
In October, the health ministry was requested by Cao Duc Phat, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, to provide information on the import of 68 tonnes of salbutamol which - according to Phat - is an inordinate amount for the pharmaceutical industry.
In addition, inspectors from the agriculture ministry found seven animal feedcompanies using salbutamol in their products in November.
The excessive employment of salbutamol could pose a severe threat to human health as residues could be retained within edible pig tissues and are not removable by cooking, international studies reported.
Consumption can lead to a rapid heart rate, dizziness, headache, anxiety, tremors, and high blood pressure.