China to breed hormone-free pigs for Olympics

BEIJING: China will breed pigs using hormone-free food for next year's Olympic athletes to avoid false-positive doping tests, Beijing's latest step to cool worldwide concern about the quality of Chinese food.

The official pork supplier's announcement came as the government promised a nationwide food quality crackdown to restore trust after a string of scandals.

Qianxihe Food Group said the pork from its pigs, which will be raised in secret locations, would not cause Olympic athletes to fail doping tests due to residual antibiotics and steroids.

"Anti-doping concerns during the Olympics have caused officials to tighten food safety regulations so that athletes will be guaranteed food quality," company spokesman Niu Shengnan said.

The use of antibiotics and growth stimulants to boost yields in meat and vegetables is widespread in China, where unscrupulous food suppliers and patchy quality enforcement have led to a rash of health scares in recent years.

In an indication of the concern Olympic organisers had about food quality, Niu said visitors to the three pig-rearing centres near Beijing had to pass a three-day quarantine process before getting in.

"No living organisms are allowed within 500 metres of the centre ... Even when inspectors go, they must first be quarantined for three days before being allowed to set foot inside," Niu said.

About 50 percent of world's pork is eaten in China, where it is the staple meat. The Chinese character for "home" is made up of the pictograms of a pig under a roof.

Blue ear disease

Pork prices have rocketed following an outbreak of a variation of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome virus -- also known as blue ear disease -- which has killed about 1 million pigs since May last year.

"We have already begun raising pigs for the Games, so supplies should not be a problem," said Niu.