South
Florida
Beef -
Forage
Program
"Article of the Month"
October 2002
Whats In a Name? - Growth Hormones in Question
Pat Hogue - Okeechobee County Extension Livestock Agent
UF/IFAS
For several years now the European Countries have refused to allow imports of beef and meat products from the
United States in particular, but other countries also, that has been treated with what they call growth enhancing
hormones and their derivatives. In April 1998 and again in May 2000 the European Scientific Committee on Veterinary
Measures relating to Public Health
( EU SCVPH) concluded that no acceptable daily intake of residuals from six hormones used for growth promoting
could be established, and that they were in fact a danger to human health and possibly carcinogenic, mutogenic
and genotoxic. Toward the end of April this year, the EU SCVPH again reviewed 17 studies and other scientific
evidence and again confirmed their previous rulings.
The latest opinion follows a re-appraisal of the 17 scientific studies initiated by the European Commission
to supposedly address certain research gaps they identified following a World Trade Organization ruling that
a prohibition of the use of certain growth promoting hormones in Europe, and subsequent prohibitory importation
of beef and meat products from countries using them, was not in line with the Agreement on the Application of
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures in 1997.
The six hormones in question are oestradiol 17-a, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol, trenbalone acetate and
melengesterone acetate and their metabolites. It is interesting to note a couple of things about these various
hormones. In searching the Internet and other sources for information about these compounds, the first thing
that is discovered is that although synthetically produced, most of these are naturally occurring substances
that may be produced in normal animal and human synthesis. This is similar to another product that has been
controversial in recent years, BST (bovine somatotropin), used to enhance milk production in dairy cattle.
Secondly, most of these are also used in one way or another in treating human conditions as enhancers or
supplements. As an example, oestradiol 17-a is one of the conjugated estrogens and is used in the human synthetic
generic of Premarin.
Table 1. Shows the six hormones of concern by the European Scientific Community and the associated animal use
products, mostly implants, used in cattle in the United States and North America. It should be noted that at
least one of these products used extensively in Canada does pose some concern to their scientific community
because of it's widespread and extensive use.
Table 1. Growth enhancing hormones and Corresponding Animal Use Products:
|
|
| oestrdial 17-a |
progesterone |
testosterone |
trenbalone
acetate |
melengestrol
acetate |
zeranol |
| Compudose |
Component E-C |
Component E-H |
Component T-H |
MGA |
Ralgro |
| Component E-C |
Component E-S |
Synovex H |
Component T-S |
|
|
| Component E-G |
Synovex C |
|
Component TE-G |
|
|
| Component E-H |
Synovex S |
|
Component TE-S |
|
|
| Component E-S |
|
|
Finaplix H |
|
|
| Component TE-G |
|
|
Revalor - G |
|
|
| Component TE-S |
|
|
Revalor - H |
|
|
| Encore |
|
|
Revalor - S |
|
|
| Revalor - G |
|
|
Synovex Plus |
|
|
| Revalor - H |
|
|
|
|
|
| Revalor - S |
|
|
|
|
|
It is not to say that potentially, these products do or do not pose any kind of health risk to humans, but
in today's world, almost everything can be of concern to someone. In the United States we still have one
of the most stringent approval processes that products must go through, including extensive scientific studies,
before they are allowed to be used in the food production chain. It is what makes our food supply the safest
in the world, and yet the use of technologies such as these also allow us to remain the most agriculturally
productive country in the world. Not only do products have to undergo this stringent approval process, but must
be continually tested and if found to be a human safety hazard, they are removed from the market place.
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