A pork merchant is being investigated by police over bad meat that has poisoned more than 300 residents, food watchdogs said yesterday.

The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration said they had traced the bad meat to a batch of pork and pig guts bought by the merchant at the Zhejiang Haiyan County Livestock Slaughterhouse. The merchant sold the meat and guts to two stalls in the Shanghai Agricultural Product Wholesale Market in Pudong New Area, from where they were distributed to 66 local wet markets, the administration said.

The administration said it had ordered the wholesale stalls and the wet markets to halt operations immediately so it can recall all bad pork.

No charges have been made by police against the pork merchant and they will continue their investigations.

City authorities have banned further pork imports from the Haiyan County slaughterhouse for an undisclosed period of time.

"All local wholesale markets are required to tighten inspections on pork and pig guts and conduct a complete check on clenoboterol hydrochloride (the poison found in the bad batch)," said Chen Guofang, an administration official.

The food administration said it had sent test machines to carry out spot checks on pork products.

All residents poisoned by the meat have left hospital.

Officials from Renji Hospital in Pudong said yesterday it had received nearly 200 patients suffering from clenobuterol hydrochloride poisoning since Wednesday.

Victims of clenobuterol hydrochloride poisoning suffer increased heart rates, fatigue, hand tremors and vomiting.

Tommy Qiu said he felt sick on Wednesday night after eating pork for supper and went to Renji Hospital.

"Doctors told me it was clenobuterol hydrochloride poisoning. I went back home after receiving saline water injections," he said. "I found many patients with the same problem and one of them was puking all over the place."

(Source: www.shanghai.gov.cn )