The Shuanghui Group, one of China s largest meat processors, apologized for selling clenbuterol-tainted pork to consumers yesterday, one day after State media reported one of its subsidiaries in Jiyuan City of Henan Province had been using pigs fed with the banned drug.
In a statement, the company said the group had ordered the Jiyuan factory to suspend production, and sent a task force to the city to deal with the matter.
The drug, which accelerates fat burning and muscle growth, is used by farmers to get their meat to market more quickly and collect a profit. It s officially banned in China and overdoses can cause illness and in rare cases, death.
Jiyuan Shuanghui Food Corp., a subsidiary of Henan Shuanghui Investment and Development, specializes in meat production and runs chain stores of its own.
China Central Television aired a report Tuesday about Shuang-hui s purchase of pigs, which were fed an illegal additive that induces the growth of lean meat. Shuanghui was reported to have actually offered local farmers higher prices for pigs fed on the stimulant.
Trading shares of Shenzhen-listed Shuanghui were suspended yesterday. The suspension notice said the trading of shares would resume after the essential facts are verified.
The Ministry of Agriculture sent a team to Henan on Tuesday to investigate, and the provincial government ordered 16 pig farms to halt pig sales and sealed feedstuff suspected to contain the additive.
The ham products of Shuanghui are still being sold in Shenzhen. According to some supermarkets, the ham products were made by Shuanghui s factory in Qingyuan. The pigs imported to Shenzhen are mainly from neighboring provinces such as Hunan, Jiangxi and Fujian.
Shuanghui Group produces cooked meat products such as sausage, and has branches in Japan, Singapore, the Philippines and South Korea. (SD News)
