Hormones in Beef: Should You Worry?

Abstract

Beef provides protein, Vitamin B12 and Zinc which are essential for a healthy diet. According to the National Agricultural Statistic Service (NASS) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a total of 2.75 million cattle were slaughtered just in the month of August 2016. Among all the slaughtered cattle, about 80 percent of them were injected with hormones to increase their weight and reduce the fat deposited in meat. Due to the increased use of growth hormone, consumers are worried regarding the safety of consuming beef. The most common issue that is raised by consumers is whether the residue of these growth hormones will impact human health.
This research paper analyzes the different types of growth hormones injected in beef and their potential health impact on consumers based on current scientific, evidence-based knowledge and available data. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) stated that hormonal activities of natural hormones exert negligible adverse health impact in humans if they are used under the good veterinary practice because of the low bioavailability on oral route. Even though the synthetic hormones may share some common hormonal activities with natural hormones, synthetic hormones act in a fundamentally different manner at the chemical level. Additionally, this research paper also briefly discusses the hormone dispute between the United States and the European Union (EU) where the use of hormones in beef production is still permitted in the United States but no longer allowed in EU.