No positive sport horse tests from feed contamination - FEI

THE FEI confirmed yesterday (Friday) that no positive sport horse tests have been returned as a result of the feed contamination that affected Gain Equine Nutrition products last week.

The presence of prohibited Zilpaterol, a bovine weight-gain substance, returned some positive results on racehorses, revealed France Galop on the eve of last weekend’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting at Longchamp.

That lead to Gain Equine Nutrition issuing advice to customers not to feed their products to competing horses across all disciplines.

Earlier in the week, the FEI notified all National Federations and athletes about the contamination.

The FEI told The Irish Field, the labs they use for testing are LGC - Newmarket, LCH Paris, HKJC Hong Kong and the Australian Forensic Racing Laboratory in Sydney.

“We test approximately 5,000 samples per year in all levels and all disciplines globally,’’ said an FEI spokesperson who said test results come back within 14 days, adding there were no positives returning for FEI horses.

A spokesperson for Gain Equine Nutrition apologised to all customers, saying “signficant progress had been made” in the ongoing investigation.

Production recommenced on Monday, October 5th. Meanwhile, customers were asked to refrain from feeding Gain feeds purchased before Friday, October 2nd and that remains in place.

The company will be issuing updates.