HÀ NỘI - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development did not find any trace of the banned substance salbutamol in samples collected from animal breeding farms and slaughterhouses during inspection in January this year.

The ministry’s Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ Quality Management conducted testing with 148 samples of meat and 678 urine samples, but all tested negative for salbutamol, said Nguyễn Như Tiệp, director of the department, at a meeting held on Tuesday Hà Nội.

Salbutamol is a substance that is not permitted to be used in animal breeding. The medication helps in the treatment of asthma, exercise-induced bronchospasm, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and high blood potassium levels, but is misused by farmers to stimulate growth in animals and make them lean.

Other tests were also performed on 949 meat samples, with 130 samples tested violating the microbiological criteria.

Three samples of vegetable exceeded the level of plant protection substance among 594 samples tested.

Tiệp said the inspection also found violations in terms of food safety and hygiene among food enterprises. Five agricultural products firms were fined up to VNĐ210 million (US$9,300) and 18 veterinary units were given administrative fines for these violations.

The inspection team also fined four animal breeding farms for injecting pigs with sedative and two other farms for forcing water into pigs’ stomach.

Tiệp said while information dissemination and communication campaigns had been fostered in localities nationwide, the content had not been practical and localities were still passive in building a proper campaign for their own provinces or cities.

He suggested authorities of all provinces and cities nationwide aggressively support measures to ensure food hygiene and safety and financially support the food safety network in their own area. - VNS