Hundreds captured for illegal additive

Nationwide crackdown on toxic chemical fed to pigs

BEIJING - Nearly 1,000 people have been arrested in a nationwide crackdown on the manufacture and sales of a banned and hazardous food additive in the past six months.

Police seized 2.5 tons of clenbuterol, a toxic chemical that is illegally used in animal feed to make pigs leaner, and six underground laboratories were shut down during the crackdown, which broke criminal rings in many cities, including Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.