Egypt: Adopting A Risk Based Tolerance for Ractopamine in Beef Reduces Rejections by 90 Percent

For a decade, trade of beef and beef products to Egypt have been very disrupted. This was mainly due to the application of zero tolerance of ractopamine. The zero-tolerance level was not based on risk assessment and was not in line with Codex MRL guidelines. The zero-tolerance increased both cost of release and the time required to clear customs. In early 2020, the National Food Safety Authority (NSFA) conducted a risk assessment and changed the tolerance level of 20 parts per billion (ppb) for the residual of ractopamine in liver and adopted Codex MRL guideline for muscle cuts at 10 ppb.