How does pork being sedated cause harm to people eating?

The amount of sedative residues in pork can cause people to lower blood pressure, slow breathing, sleep disorders .

Veterinary experts recommend Combistress medicine to be injected into pigs right before slaughtering can leave residues in meat harmful to consumers' health.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Le Van Tho, Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, Nong Lam University in Ho Chi Minh City, Combistress contains the main active ingredient, Acepromazine . Acepromazine has an inhibitory effect on the central nervous system, sedation, anti-stress, helps animals calm down and reduces anxiety and anti-vomiting. The drug is used before surgery anesthesia to avoid animals excreting too much saliva and secretions in the respiratory tract due to side effects of anesthesia.

Sedative for pigs in Xuyen A furnace.(Photo: Veterinary medicine in Ho Chi Minh City).

In animal husbandry, tranquilizers are often used as anesthesia when operating or helping sedative animals to perform minor surgery. The drug can also be used to reassure a ferocious mother biting a baby without breastfeeding. In addition, drugs are also used when transporting animals far away to prevent motion sickness, vomiting, and death reduction. Drugs also make the blood vessels shrink, making the flesh look rosier and more eye-catching. However, experts always recommend using pig medicine in appropriate doses, should not abuse.

In hospitals, if you want to use these drugs for anesthesia for people who are required to have a doctor's prescription. In the veterinary field, the drug containing Acepromazine has no specific regulations and is normally sold in veterinary drug stores. But according to the time regulation, it must stop taking the drug within 5 to 7 days before the meat of the animal will ensure safety for consumers.

In case pigs are given tranquilizers right before slaughter, the amount of residual drug in meat will affect the health of people because the medicine has not been discharged. People who eat this type of meat in the long term may develop blood vessels, lower blood pressure, slow breathing, and sleep disorders. Symptoms are more severe for the elderly, patients and children.

Mr. Tho said that in the market of veterinary drugs, in addition to Combistress, Prozil is a veterinary drug containing two main ingredients, Acepromazine and Atropine, which have similar effects.

According to Dr. Tho, it is difficult to see which pieces of meat have sedative residues. There are basically some signs such as a piece of meat that is very eye-catching in color, redder than usual, touching it very sticky, very flexible, close to the skin, very low in fat, can be suspected live pigs have been using drugs in contravention of regulations.