Charm Sciences Introduces Test for Ractopamine in Swine

LAWRENCE, Mass., May 7, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Charm Sciences, Inc. announces the Charm Ractopamine Test for Porcine Oral Fluid (RACTO-POF). It is a lateral flow test that uses Charm's trusted Rapid One Step Assay (ROSA®) technology to detect ractopamine in porcine oral fluid collected from chew ropes in hog rearing pens.

Ractopamine, a beta-agonist drug used as a feed additive to increase the development of lean muscle in swine, is allowed within limits in the United States but is banned in China, Russia, EU nations, and other countries. The RACTO-POF test is a simple and fast way to ensure that swine are ractopamine-free, and therefore permissible for global export prior to processing.

"Oral fluids extracted from chew ropes are a commingled saliva sample representative of the entire pen of animals. The sample can be collected and tested antemortem as a process control verification," said Bob Salter, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Charm Sciences. "In the case of ractopamine testing, a negative result verifies that the animals are unlikely to have ractopamine tissue residues and that controls for a ractopamine-free production environment and transport are effective. If positive, the antemortem result allows for cause determination, corrective action, and remediation before processing."

As with all Charm ROSA tests, the results of a RACTO-POF test can be read and recorded using the all-in-one Charm EZ® system.

About Charm Sciences, Inc.
Established in 1978 in Greater Boston, Charm Sciences helps protect consumers, manufacturers, and global brands from a variety of issues through the development of food safety, water quality, and environmental diagnostic tests and equipment. Selling directly and through its network of distributors, Charm's products serve the dairy, feed and grain, food and beverage, water, healthcare, environmental, and industrial markets in more than 100 countries around the globe. https://www.charm.com

SOURCE Charm Sciences, Inc