A NUMBER of major UK feed companies have confirmed their products have been contaminated with the banned substance zilpaterol, an additive used to promote weight gain in cattle.

Like the situation with Gain Equine Nutrition in Ireland, the contamination was caused by molasses supplied by ED & F Man Ltd. The feed companies confirmed to be affected to date are Allen and Page, Baileys Horse Feeds, Hilight Horse Feeds, Honeychop Horse Feeds, Saracen Horse Feeds and Spillers, Winergy, Pegasus.

In a statement, BETA, said: “It has very recently been confirmed that the cane molasses containing Zilpaterol Hydrochloride supplied by ED & F Man Ltd into Ireland did then enter the UK some months ago and was supplied to a few equine feed companies. In that period there have only been positives detected under the rules of racing in France from feed originating from one Irish company.

“Once aware that the contamination may have affected the UK supply, all companies took precautionary measures and stopped using the molasses. ED & F Man Ltd contacted companies in the last few days to confirm that the material was contaminated but at lower levels than was the case in Ireland. The level of Zilpaterol which has been found in feed was less than one part per billion, below the level which would trigger food or feed safety considerations.”

The FEI advised competitors to withdraw any horses that may have inadvertently ingested Zilpaterol from competition.

In case of any confusion, Declan Cullen of the Irish feed company Pegus, released a statement saying: “One of the companies mentioned was Pegasus. Please be aware that this company is owned by Spillers/Mars and is in no way associated with Pegus Horse Feed, an Irish-owned horse feed company manufactured under license by Dairygold Agri, Liffey Mills Limited has John Thompson and Sons Limited.

“Each of our manufacturing partners have carried out a full audit of their supply chain and are confident that no molasses sourced from ED & F Mann has been used in the manufacture of Pegus Horse Feed products.”