East China food poisoning result of feuding vendors

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-21 22:23

HANGZHOU - A dispute between two vendors resulted in a food poisoning that sickened 70 people in China's eastern Zhejiang province, local police said on Friday.

A man, surnamed Wang, was arrested on Wednesday. Police in Jiaxing City said he confessed to putting clenbuterol hydrochloride into meat from a competitor's fridge.

Police said Wang and a vendor from another stall in the Xiujia market had been having a dispute, although they did not tell Xinhua what it was about or for how long it lasted.

On November 10, 70 employees from the Zhongmao Plastic Industrial Co., Ltd became sick with vomiting, limb numbness and other symptoms. They had purchased the poisoned pork and eaten it for lunch.

Authorities found clenbuterol hydrochloride in the meat and the patients' vomit. They quickly suspended the seller's business.

All 70 people have recovered and returned to work.

Police are hunting for the person who sold Wang the chemical which can be used to treat asthma. It is also sometimes added to the feedstuff of pigs to make pork thinner, however, even the residual is poisonous and its use has been banned by government.

No word on how much business the vendor lost or when he will be able to resume selling meat.