Farmers feed pigs harmful chemicals

Many Chinese farmers continue to skirt the ban on chemical additives in food for pigs, increasing the risk of disease and illness in humans, according to a report from the nation's top legislature.

Weak links in the government's management of farming and safety standards have led to an increasing number of cases of people becoming sick from contaminated pork, according to the report released yesterday from the National People's Congress Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

In February, more than 80 people in Guangdong province experienced stomachaches and diarrhea after consuming pig organs contaminated with an illegal feed additive called Clenbuterol.