I don't know why I've never heard of this chemical before, but it sounds beyond terrible. I've now googled ractopamine in Canada, and pork producers in Alberta and British Columbia have done a voluntary removal from their feed regimine so their product can again be shipped overseas, but the gov't still claims it's safe.
"In Canada, ractopamine is only allowed in meal or pellet feed for finishing barrows and gilts, confined finishing cattle, and finishing heavy turkeys." Wikipedia



Ractopamine: The Meat Additive Banned Almost Everywhere But America
By Dr. Mercola

Meat—and beef in particular—is a mainstay of the traditional American dinner. Unfortunately, the vast majority of it is filled with harmful additives of one form or another, and is raised in such a way that it contributes to the degeneration of health...

This is no minor concern, as most of the animals are also fed genetically engineered feed that is loaded with the potent herbicide glyphosate that winds up in your body.

I am so convinced of the cumulative harms of consuming meat from animals raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) that the ONLY type of meat I recommend eating (and the only meat I will eat myself) is organically-raised, grass-fed or pastured meats and animal byproducts.

This applies to all types of meat: beef, pork, and poultry, including turkey. In a recent article published by the Cornucopia Institute,1 investigative health reporter Martha Rosenberg discusses the questionable yet widespread use of ractopamine in American animal farming.

According to Rosenberg, the controversial drug is used in as many as 80 percent of all American pig and cattle operations. It's also used in turkey farming.

FDA Sued for Withholding Records Pertaining to Ractopamine Safety

Ractopamine is a beta agonist drug that increases protein synthesis, thereby making the animal more muscular. This reduces the fat content of the meat and increases the profit per animal. The drug, which is also used in asthma medication, was initially recruited for use in livestock when researchers discovered that it made mice more muscular.

Interestingly enough, stubborn weight gain is also common complaint among asthma patients using Advair (a beta-agonist drug)—so much so that the manufacturer has added weight gain to the post-marketing side effects. Other adverse reactions to beta-agonist drugs include increased heart rate, insomnia, headaches, and tremors.

Beta-agonist drugs, as a class, have been used in US cattle production since 2003. The drug is administered in the days leading up to slaughter, and as much as 20 percent of it can remain in the meat you buy.

This is disconcerting when you consider that the drug label warns: "Not for use in humans," and "individuals with cardiovascular disease should exercise special caution to avoid exposure."

While other drugs require a clearance period of around two weeks to help ensure the compounds are flushed from the meat prior to slaughter (and therefore reduce residues leftover for human consumption), there is no clearance period for ractopamine.

In an effort to get this dangerous additive out of American meat products, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) and Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) recently sued the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for withholding records pertaining to ractopamine's safety. As reported by Rosenberg:2

"According to the lawsuit, in response to the groups' requests for information 'documenting, analyzing, or otherwise discussing the physiological, psychological, and/or behavioral effects' of ractopamine, the FDA has only produced 464 pages out of 100,000 pages that exist.

Worse, all 464 pages have already been released as part of a reporter's FOIA...

CFS and ALDF have spent over 18 months meeting with the FDA and seeking information about the effects of ractopamine on 'target animal or human liver form and function, kidney form and function, thyroid form and function' as well as urethral and prostate effects and 'tumor development.' The lawsuit says the CFS has 'exhausted administrative remedies' and that the FDA has 'unlawfully withheld' the materials."

Why Is Ractopamine Banned in 160 Countries?

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/ar...nist-drug.aspx