GUANGZHOU: The city government here is on high alert to prevent rodents from the neighboring province of Hunan ending up on the menus of its restaurants.

Information Times, a local newspaper, reported on Saturday trucks loaded with field mice were seen arriving late at night from Hunan and were headed for a market in the suburban district of Baiyun.

About 2 billion field mice invaded 22 counties around the Dongting Lake in Hunan after their holes were flooded earlier this month, and about 2.3 million were killed.

He Huaxian, deputy director of Yueyang Disease Control Center in Hunan, said the newspaper report was not true.

"It is difficult to catch rats alive and it is even more difficult to catch them alive in such great numbers," He said.

Wang Fan, an official of the Guangzhou Food Safety Office, said: "The market was inspected over the weekend, and no mice were found.

"We will continue to keep a close watch on the market, and the public will be kept informed."

Eating field mice is considered a delicacy in Guangdong Province. It was banned in 2003 with the outbreak of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

"The city government of Guangzhou has not lifted the ban against the trading and eating of wild animals, including rats," Wang said.

"Though we took immediate action, we did not find any field mice from Hunan in the market exposed by the media over the weekend," an official with the municipal industrial and commercial administration's Baiyun branch, who identified himself with the surname Zhang, told China Daily over the phone.

"We hope to get in touch with the very reporter as soon as possible for more detailed information," he said.

(China Daily 07/17/2007 page5)