NFL players warned about meat laced with performance-enhancing drug

The NFL and NFL Players Association have circulated a memo, which several players shared on social media, warning about consuming meat from Mexico and China that may contain the performance-enhancer clenbuterol.

Wide Receiver for the Baltimore Ravens, Steve Smith Sr, posted an image of the memo on Twitter earlier this week.

It read: “There is evidence that some meat produced in China and Mexico may be contaminated with clenbuterol, an anabolic agent which is banned by the NFL Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances.​”

Risk​

The memo went on to warn players that consuming a large quantity of said meat could run the risk of testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug, resulting in a fine or suspension.

Players travelling to Mexico or China were told it was their own risk if they decided to consume meat in the respective countries.

Banned in US​

Clenbuterol is occasionally used in meat production to produce cuts with a higher muscle-to-fat ratio. Use of the drug in livestock has been banned in the US since 1991 due to health concerns in humans, such as high blood pressure and anxiety.

Use of the drug is not licensed in China for use on food-producing animals, but some Chinese meat processors have snuck through the net of food safety regulators in the past.

Back in 2011, China’s government launched a year-long crackdown on illegal food additives after 72 employees from a large meat processor were arrested for selling clenbuterol-laced pork.

Thanks for the heads up. If you have a few steak dinners on vacation your screwed https://t.co/SLde2ho8gjpic.twitter.com/e0g53BfsIE

— Steve Smith Sr (@89SteveSmith) May 3, 2016