According to studies conducted by the centre for Red Meat Safety, the presence of harmful chemical residues between “normal beef” and “natural beef” likely shows no difference. Normal beef is as safe and as healthy as natural beef.

The following prominent agencies, renowned for their concern for human food safety, concluded that growth hormones used in beef production pose no safety risk to humans consuming the beef.

• US Food and Drug Administration
• World Health Organisation (WHO)
• Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
• Codex Alimentarius
• European Economic Community (EEC)
• Scientific working Group on Anabolic Agents (1981)
• European Community (EC) Scientific conference on Growth Promotion in Meat Production (1995)

Hormones occur naturally in the animal kingdom and are secreted and consumed daily by both humans and animals. The growth of all body tissue is under the direct control of hormones. Using anabolic steroids in animal production enhances the well-being of our animals while maximising feed efficiency.

Vegetables contribute close to 90% of all compounds with hormonal activity ingested in a human’s diet. Vegetables contain specific phytohormones which are also found in fodder consumed by domestic animals. Phytohormones with an oestrogenic activity are also found in natural, ordinary vegetable products, such as potatoes, cherries, apples, cabbage, beans and hops used in the preparation of beer as well as in soya and sunflower oils.

Interestingly enough, beer contains more than ten times the hormone level of beef. 3300 kilograms of beef will have the same amount of hormones as a 340ml can of beer

Hormones are used by livestock producers to increase lean meat production and to improve the efficiency of conversion of feed energy to lean meat.

When they are used, it is only done on the recommendation of a specialist veterinary physician and the withdrawal periods prescribed by the manufacturers are always allowed before the cattle are sent to the abattoir.

Five hormones have been approved for use in beef production by our Registrar under Act 36 of 1947, after many years of extensive local and international trials and human safety tests were presented. These are estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, zeranol and trenbolone acetate.

The US Food and Drug Administration – one of the strictest human health safety organisations in the world – has approved the use of properly administered hormonal implants for beef production. Implant safety is also implied by the fact that in 40 years of application, no safety problem has ever arisen.

• Age: male weaner calves between 8-10 months.
• Breeds: Beef breeds and beef breed crosses that have the potential to produce economically a final carcass of 450-470 kg in the A class after at least a 120-day feeding period.

• Entry mass: 230 kg
• Exit mass: 460 kg
• Carcase mass: 268 kg
• Average Daily Gain: 1.65 kg
• Feed consumed: 12.5 kg/day
• Water intake/d:
• * Summer 55-60lt.
• * Winter 40-45lt.
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