IFA warns ‘angel dust’ beef may reach Irish market Farmers’ group says EU talks with US could result in chemical-enhanced meat in domestic shops
Alison Healy Beef from cattle raised with hormones and an angel dust derivative could appear on Irish supermarket shelves if EU negotiators do not take a firm line with the US in Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks, the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) has warned. It is illegal to use growth-promoting hormones or chemicals such as beta agonists in Europe but US farmers can use these to speed up muscle growth.
...He said he had visited a US ranch where the farmer explained that cattle received seven different doses of hormones from a relatively young age. “Also on that ranch they were compounding the feed and they were using Ractopamine, which is a derivative of angel dust. It’s legal in the US. The issue is how do you differentiate between the non-use and the use of that in terms of access to the market?”...
