Mexico meat problem, blame for players testing positive A few call it “cattle cocaine.”

Mexico's meat problem
The Miami Herald


That five of Mexico's Gold Cup players were suspended for testing positive for clenbuterol, which team officials said was a result of them eating tainted meat, prompted Tim Johnson to report on the use of clenbuterol by Mexican ranchers to help cattle build muscle mass before going to the slaughterhouse.

Ranchers call the powdery substance “miracle salts.” A few call it “cattle cocaine.” Much of Mexico’s beef is so tainted with the steroid clenbuterol that it sickens hundreds of people each year.

“You should have zero people getting sick if it [Mexican beef] is safe,” said Dr. Don H. Catlin, a professor emeritus of medical pharmacology at UCLA and a pioneer in drug testing in sports. “If you have one person, then that means it’s getting into the system.”

Since 2007, Mexican law penalizes ranchers who use banned steroids in cattle with potential jail terms of seven years. But the law is widely disregarded. In April, Germany’s anti-doping agency warned traveling athletes not to eat meat in Mexico because it might result in positive doping results.

- Read the whole story... www.miamiherald.com/2011/06/13/2265152/much-of-mexican-meat-tainted-with.html