Hangzhou implements pre-slaughter urine testing for live pigs

To give residents peace of mind when eating meat, Hangzhou has implemented pre-slaughter urine testing for live pigs, effectively preventing pork from pigs fed "lean meat powder" from reaching the dining table. According to data provided by the Hangzhou Municipal Agriculture Bureau, so far a total of 4,552 pigs in Hangzhou have been pulled off the slaughter line after testing positive in urine tests.

To give residents "peace-of-mind meat," Hangzhou began on September 20 implementing pre-slaughter urine testing of live pigs awaiting slaughter at 6 designated slaughterhouses in the urban area, that is, animal quarantine personnel conduct random urine sample testing on each batch of pigs ready for slaughter and use the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method for testing; four or five hours later, the animal quarantine department notifies the slaughterhouse, and any batch of pigs awaiting slaughter that tests positive in urine samples may not be sent to the line for slaughter. At the same time, spot checks, reviews and registration were carried out on 48 feed and veterinary drug production enterprises across the city, and a total of 69.5 kg of "lean meat powder" additive was seized.

According to data provided by the Hangzhou Municipal Agriculture Bureau, from September 20 to October 31, Hangzhou tested a total of 2,782 pig urine samples and detected 65 positive urine samples, and dozens of batches awaiting slaughter, totaling 3,389 pigs, were pulled off the slaughter line because they included pigs that tested positive in urine tests. Based on analysis of the sources of positive pigs, local pigs from Hangzhou accounted for 45.9%, while pigs transferred in from elsewhere accounted for 54.1%.