CHICAGO – Spam-maker Hormel Foods Corp (HRL.N) is eliminating a growth drug banned by China from its hog supply, the company said on Tuesday, joining rivals that are seeking to increase meat sales to Chinese buyers grappling with a pork shortage.
Hormel will not accept any hogs that have been fed or exposed to the drug ractopamine after April 1, the company said in a statement.
Tyson Foods Inc (TSN.N) and JBS USA said last year they would remove the drug from their supply chains. The companies’ moves ramped up the competition to profit from increased demand in China, the world’s largest pork consumer, where an outbreak of the fatal pig disease African swine fever has decimated herds.
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