What's In a Name? - Growth Hormones in Question

October 2002
Pat Hogue - Okeechobee County Extension, Livestock Agent III

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
 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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