'Doped' with tainted Mexican meat

Sunday, December 4, 2011

When a single player or members of an entire team test positive for a banned substance, it's called "doping." When members of several teams are found with a banned substance in their urine, it's considered a "public health" issue with contaminated meat as the prime suspect.

That's how Mexican officials and the World Anti-Doping Agency described the situation when more than 100 players at the "Under-17" World Cup soccer tournament in that country tested positive for clenbuterol. The drug is legitimately used to treat respiratory disease in horses, and illegitimately used to enhance athletic performance in humans and quickly produce lean meat growth in animals, such as pigs and cattle. "The government of Mexico – which has legislation forbidding the use of steroids with livestock – accepts that it has an issue with contaminated meat and is actively looking to resolve the problem state by state," an Agency news release says. "Already several arrests have been made pursuant to these laws and large amounts of clenbuterol seized."

Tests conducted at the Agency's lab in Germany found that 108 of 208 urine samples were positive for the drug, including athletes from 19 of 24 teams at the tournament.

At the Pan American Games immediately following the tainted soccer tournament, athletes were advised to eat in designated cafeterias. Ironically, Mexican senior team soccer players had been found with clenbuterol in their systems in June and the Mexican teenage team tested clean because they switched to a fish and vegetables diet. BF