More than 300 people were poisoned after consuming bad pork in Shanghai. Many were treated in hospital and all have been released. The infected pork had been delivered to 66 markets in Shanghai. The police are investigating the meat traders. The Beijing News reported that many hospitals in Shanghai had admitted people with suspected clenobuterol hydrochloride poisoning. One hospital in Pudong District had admitted dozens of affected people.
Victims of clenobuterol hydrochloride poisoning experience dizziness, fatigue, increased heart rates, hand tremors, vomiting, etc. All of them were suspected of eating the liver or kidneys of the tainted pork. The incident is being investigated by the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration.
It has been reported that a merchant from a Livestock Slaughterhouse in Haiyan County, Zhejiang Province, bought the contaminated pork. The merchant then sold the meat to stalls in the Shanghai Wholesale Market, after which the meat was distributed to 66 local markets. The merchant has been detained for questioning.
Farmers put clenobuterol hydrochloride into pig feed to hasten lean muscle growth. Humans will suffer food poisoning from consuming a small amount of the drug. Although China has banned the use of clenobuterol hydrochloride in pig feed, some farmers continue to use it.
