Alberta hog producers are asked to protect pork export markets by ensuring they do not use ractopamine in feed.
Pork from pigs fed ractopamine, a beta agonist used to increase lean meat, is not accepted in some of Canada’s major export markets, although it has been deemed safe by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the World Health Organization’s Codex Alimentarius.
Canada’s ractopamine-free certification program is an industry-driven initiative to ensure producers keep clear of the feed additive, which is marketed as Paylean.
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If critical products are unavailable when needed, it could result in unnecessary human and animal deaths in the worst-case scenario.
“It’s to certify that our pork being marketed is free of ractopamine … to allow our purchasers to buy with confidence in a market that’s asking for ractopamine not to be included into the pig production model,” said swine veterinarian Dr. Egan Brockhoff.
“It’s a critical component for us as pork producers and people working within the industry. It’s critical in that it maintains market access for us and maintains us in very, very large markets.”
Brockhoff estimated the value of such markets as $300 to $500 million annually.
However, the onus is on producers to buy feed only from feed mills that are part of the program or produce feed themselves that does not include ractopamine.
Pigs fed the additive are not accepted at federally inspected Canadian processors. However, there is the possibility of accidental ractopamine contamination unless mills from which producers buy feed are one of three types identified in the program:
- Type A feed production plants have no ractopamine on site.
- Type B sites use ractopamine in cattle feed but sequence and flush systems before making other feed to ensure no cross-contamination.
- Type C feed plants are on-farm operations that do not use ractopamine and do not commercially market feed.
Brockhoff said producers re-quire an annual letter of guarantee from their feed mill that the mill is part of the program. The letter, referred to as Annex 3, is available online and should employ the exact wording provided.
A list of feed mills that are part of the ractopamine-free program is available online and from Alberta Pork.
“It’s critical that you verify that your mill is enrolled in the program,” said Brockhoff.
The list includes 24 facilities in Alberta, two in British Columbia, 24 in Manitoba and 12 in Sask-atchewan.
Producers should also ensure they have the Annex 5.1 part of the program documents, which is part of the quality assurance program for pork, he added.
Audrey Cameron, who oversees the ractopamine-free program for the Canadian Pork Council, said representatives from China and the European Union plan to visit Canada this summer and audit the program.
Neither importer accepts pork from pigs fed ractopamine.
“We all need to be on the same page and look at our responsibilities, review them and make sure that we are meeting the requirements of the program,” said Cameron.
Brockhoff said China has indicated it will be more stringent in its audits. In the past, countries that violated the ban lost Chinese market access for a year, but in the future that ban might last longer, he said.
The complete list of feed plants enrolled in the program can be found at bit.ly/22fYMzX.
More information about the ractopamine-free program for pork can be found at bit.ly/22fZbP1.
