Chinese authorities fish out 157 dead pigs from river
Animals found in Gan – a tributary of the Yangtze – in Jiangxi, which supplies drinking water to the provincial capital, Nanchang
Pig carcasses wrapped in plastic sheets waiting to be moved from the banks of the Gan river in Nanchang, China. Photograph: Str/AFP/Getty
Chinese authorities have found 157 dead pigs in a river, state media have said, underscoring the country's food safety problems a year after 16,000 carcasses were discovered in Shanghai's main waterway.
The animals were recovered from the Gan river in Jiangxi, which supplies drinking water to the provincial capital Nanchang, the official news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday.
Tests showed that the tapwater remains safe for drinking, it said, citing Nanchang authorities.
The Gan is a tributary of the Yangtze, one of China's main waterways. "Another 20 pigs have been fished out of the Gan river, for a total of 157," state broadcaster CCTV said on Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter.
Photos posted by CCTV showed staff in white clothing and face masks inspecting carcasses lined up on a riverbank. Ear tags indicated that the animals came from Zhangshu, part of Yichun city in the central Chinese province, CCTV said, citing Jiangxi's agriculture department.
An official with the Yichun agriculture bureau said it was unclear where the pigs originated. Zhangshu authorities could not immediately be reached.
China was stunned a year ago by the appearance of more than 16,000 dead pigs floating along parts of the Huangpu river, which flows through Shanghai – one of a series of food safety scandals in recent years. No official explanation was given for the incident, which embarrassed China's commercial hub. Last May, police detained 900 people for crimes including selling rat and fox meat as beef and mutton.
In 2008, six babies died and 300,000 fell ill in a scandal involving contaminated milk powder.
Public concern about food safety is high. In his address to China's parliament this month, the premier, Li Keqiang, promised to "apply the strictest possible oversight, punishment and accountability to prevent and control food contamination and ensure that every bite of food we eat is safe".
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