The feed additive is allowed in a mixed ration at a lower dose and cannot be used as a top dressing
Canada has approved a new label for Zilmax.
The Canadian Veterinary Drug Directorate allows the beta agonist additive from Merck Animal Health to be fed to cattle weighing at least 450 kilograms at a lower dose than previously recommended.
The product was pulled from the market in 2013 following reports of lameness in slaughter cattle. Major packing companies refused to accept cattle fed the product.
Under the new terms of use, cattle feeders will receive new directions on how to mix it into feed rations. A lower dose of 60 milligrams of the active ingredient zilpaterol hydrochloride is allowed through multiple feedings in a day.
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It must be thoroughly mixed into feed before use and cannot be fed as top dressing.
“Component feeding provides cattle feeders with an alternate feed delivery method to deliver appropriate doses of Zilmax to cattle every day,” said a Merck news release.
It is given to cattle for the last 20 days of the feeding period and must be withdrawn four days before slaughter.
The product is not a hormone. Its mode of action improves carcass leanness, adds more muscle rather than fat and increases dressing percentage.
Products such as Zilmax and its counterpart, Optaflexx by Elanco, whose main component is ractopamine, have been proven to im-prove weight gains, especially in steers, said Gabriel Ribeiro, a re-searcher at Agriculture Canada in Lethbridge.
Studies showed Zilmax could add as much as 33 pounds to the final carcass weight because of the greater muscle mass.
Opptaflex added seven to 20 lb. more, he said at the Alberta Beef Industry Conference held in Red Deer Feb. 18-20.
The added lean gain has an advantage of $15 to $40 per head extra.
“The value of this technology will vary with carcass price, so if you have a higher carcass price, you will have a higher value,” he said.
