September 18-21, 2021 was the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference and IFTA USA, Inc had the privilege of attending in-person this year and presenting a poster entitled ‘Use of a natural additive based on pronutrients to replace ractopamine and improve performance and meat leanness in grow-finishing pigs’, in collaboration with Biovet S.A.

Ractopamine is a metabolic modifier used as a growth promoter to obtain leaner meat that has been banned in more than 160 countries. Pronutrients, commercialized as Alquernat Nebsui, are active molecules from plant extracts, that represent a natural alternative to the use of ractopamine as they allow to improve growth, feed conversion (FCR) and meat quality in a completely natural way.

The poster presented in the Allen D. Leman Swine Conference explained a trial conducted to evaluate whether pronutrients could replace ractopamine in grow-finishing pigs. Results in this trial show a trend of pronutrients to improve weight gain and carcass yield. Additionally, pronutrients and ractopamine significantly improve FCR and reduce backfat thickness to obtain leaner meat. Certainly, these parameters point out that pronutrients are an effective alternative to ractopamine in grow-finishing pigs. Besides, pronutrients are natural molecules that do not leave residues and are do not limit pork meat imports and exports.

About Allen D. Leman Swine Conference

The Allen D. Leman Swine Conference is an annual educational event for the global swine industry. It is internationally acclaimed for bringing science-driven solutions to the complex challenges facing the industry. Each year hundreds of participants from over 20 countries, including swine veterinarians and other professionals working in swine production and animal health management, attend the Leman Swine Conference.