Court tough on the lean meat gang
By Wang Qingchu |
July 26, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
The ringleader of a gang involved in a contaminated pork scandal was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve yesterday.
Liu Xiang, 42, was one of five people who made and sold thousands of kilograms of a banned food additive used to produce lean pork, a court in Jiaozuo City in central China's Henan Province heard.
They had been charged with "endangering public security through dangerous means."
The clenbuterol they produced or sold was distributed to eight provinces, including Henan, Shandong and Jiangsu, authorities said.
The five, "despite possessing knowledge of the harm of clenbuterol, became involved in the production and sale of it," the court said in its verdict. "Their acts also brought tremendous losses to the local livestock-farming industry," it added.
Liu was found guilty of making the prohibited drug.
Xi Zhongjie was sentenced to life imprisonment for selling the drug while Xiao Bing, Chen Yuwei and Liu Honglin were jailed for between nine and 15 years for acting as regional dealers.
Jiaozuo City Intermediate People's Court heard that Liu made more than 2,700 kilograms of clenbuterol, also know as "lean meat powder," giving him a profit of 2.5 million yuan (US$387,922).
Jiyuan Shuanghui Food Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Shuanghui Group, the country's leading meat processor, was one of the companies that sold the contaminated pork, China Central Television revealed in March.
A 1 yuan dose of lean meat power could help raisers earn an extra 40-50 yuan when selling their pigs as leaner ones were more in demand by customers who considered them healthier, CCTV reported.
Jiyuan Shuanghui didn't test for lean meat powder when buying pigs.
China's agriculture and health ministries, and the State Food and Drug Administration banned the chemical in 2002. But the premium paid for leaner pigs encouraged breeders to risk feeding it to their animals.
Consumption of pork tainted with clenbuterol can cause nausea, dizziness and tremors. It poses more danger to people with cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure and long-time consumption can even lead to cancer, experts say.
The pork scare prompted the central government to set up a team to crack down on the source of the chemical.
Three animal husbandry heads in Henan were suspended and around 30 officials punished following pigs testing positive for clenbuterol.
Shuanghui Group dismissed officials at Jiyuan Shuanghui, including the general manager, holding them responsible for the drug in Jiyuan's products.
Liu Xiang, 42, was one of five people who made and sold thousands of kilograms of a banned food additive used to produce lean pork, a court in Jiaozuo City in central China's Henan Province heard.
They had been charged with "endangering public security through dangerous means."
The clenbuterol they produced or sold was distributed to eight provinces, including Henan, Shandong and Jiangsu, authorities said.
The five, "despite possessing knowledge of the harm of clenbuterol, became involved in the production and sale of it," the court said in its verdict. "Their acts also brought tremendous losses to the local livestock-farming industry," it added.
Liu was found guilty of making the prohibited drug.
Xi Zhongjie was sentenced to life imprisonment for selling the drug while Xiao Bing, Chen Yuwei and Liu Honglin were jailed for between nine and 15 years for acting as regional dealers.
Jiaozuo City Intermediate People's Court heard that Liu made more than 2,700 kilograms of clenbuterol, also know as "lean meat powder," giving him a profit of 2.5 million yuan (US$387,922).
Jiyuan Shuanghui Food Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Shuanghui Group, the country's leading meat processor, was one of the companies that sold the contaminated pork, China Central Television revealed in March.
A 1 yuan dose of lean meat power could help raisers earn an extra 40-50 yuan when selling their pigs as leaner ones were more in demand by customers who considered them healthier, CCTV reported.
Jiyuan Shuanghui didn't test for lean meat powder when buying pigs.
China's agriculture and health ministries, and the State Food and Drug Administration banned the chemical in 2002. But the premium paid for leaner pigs encouraged breeders to risk feeding it to their animals.
Consumption of pork tainted with clenbuterol can cause nausea, dizziness and tremors. It poses more danger to people with cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure and long-time consumption can even lead to cancer, experts say.
The pork scare prompted the central government to set up a team to crack down on the source of the chemical.
Three animal husbandry heads in Henan were suspended and around 30 officials punished following pigs testing positive for clenbuterol.
Shuanghui Group dismissed officials at Jiyuan Shuanghui, including the general manager, holding them responsible for the drug in Jiyuan's products.
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