Controvery of β- Adrenergic Agonists

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Introduction
From May 13th to August 7th 2014, I was in Dakota City, Nebraska as the Tyson Fresh Meats Carcass Merchandising Intern. Most of my time in the plant in Dakota City was spent on the grade chain applying USDA Grading Requirements and Tyson Merchandising Tagging Procedures. During the process of my internship I learned how to look at cattle based on carcass characteristics. One of the things to really stand out to me that became an ongoing interest to me was the use of β- adrenergic agonists. The carcasses that we saw were physically different then naturally raised cattle as well as a significant USDA quality difference. By naturally raised I mean cattle that are not given the β- adrenergic agonists feed additives. The carcasses that were apparent to be given these β- adrenergic agonists appeared to be extremely heavily muscled. I became every interested in these β- adrenergic agonists that were being fed and their relation to the carcass qualities I was seeing on the rail.
Discussion
There is a vast amount of information on β-adrenergic agonists especially after their banning from plants that began after my internship in September of 2013. β-adrenergic agonists have been studied for many years due to their advancements in growth potential. The β-adrenergic agonists that are commonly used in the United States and the β- adrenergic agonists that we saw at Tyson were Zilpaterol Hydrochloride and Ractopamine Hydrochloride otherwise marketed by Merck Animal Health as Zilmax (zilpatherol hydrochloride) and Elanco Animal Health’s Opaflexx (ractopamine hydrochloride). In 2003 and 2006, respectably, research-based dietary additives were accepted to be used to enhance the efficiency of gain became allowable in the beef cattl...

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....A. Scanga, D.R. McKenna, W.H. Kolath, P.L. Chapman, J.D. Tatum, and K.E. Belk. "Effects of Ractopamine Hydrochloride and Zilpaterol Hydrochloride Supplementation on Longissimus Muscle Shear Force and Sensory Attributes of Beef Steers." Journal Of Animal Science 91 (2013): 5989-997. Print.
2. Delmore, R.J., Hodgen, J.M., and Johnson, B.J. “Perspectives on the application of Zilpatherol hydrochloride in the United States beef industry” Journal Of Animal Science 88 (2010): 2825-2828. Print.
3. R. J. Rathmann, B. C. Bernhard, R. S. Swingle, T. E. Lawrence, W. T. Nichols, D. A. Yates, J. P. Hutcheson, M. N. Streeter, J. C. Brooks, M. F. Miller and B. J. Johnson. “Effects of zilpaterol hydrochloride and days on the finishing diet on feedlot performance, carcass characteristics, and tenderness in beef heifers.” Journal Of Animal Science 90 (2013): 3301-3311. Print.

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