Northern Vietnam now flags steroid use in pigs

After a widespread boycott on pork in southern Vietnam due to steroids contamination, the substance is now reported to have been found in the north as well.

Nguyen Xuan Duong, deputy head of animal husbandry at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said they have found samples of animal feed and pork contaminated with the beta agonist growth promoting agent.

The substance was found among more than 90 samples, by themselves representing a low level of contamination. The samples were collected from Hoa Binh, Hai Duong and Bac Ninh Provinces.

Police in southern Vietnam on March 23 said they had found traces of banned substances – ractopamine and salbutamol – in animal feed sold in Dong Nai Province, a major pork and pig supplier to Ho Chi Minh City.

The news comes one month after an investigative report showed livestock farmers in Dong Nai were drugging their pigs with steroids containing beta-agonist growth promoting agents.