* China pulls nearly 6,000 dead pigs from Shanghai river

BBC: “Officials say the number of pig carcasses found in Shanghai‘s Huangpu River has risen to nearly 6,000.

In a statement, Shanghai authorities said that 5,916 dead pigs had been removed from the river by Tuesday.

But they said water from the river was safe, with water quality meeting government-set standards.

It is believed that the pigs may have come from Jiaxing in the neighbouring Zhejiang province, although the cause of their deaths is still not clear.

In a statement, the Shanghai municipal government said that the water in Huangpu River, which is a major source of drinking water for Shanghai, was safe. It also said that no diseased pork had been detected in markets.

However, the news has been met with scepticism by some users on weibo, China’s Twitter equivalent, where the hashtag “Huangpu River dead pigs” has emerged.

“Cadres and officials, we are willing to provide for you, but please don’t let us die from poisoning. Otherwise who will serve you? Please think twice,” said netizen Shi Liqin.

“This river’s colour is about the same as excrement, even if there weren’t dead pigs you couldn’t drink it,” said another, with the username Yuzhou Duelist.

The general mood is of concern, rather than outrage or panic, reports the BBC’s John Sudworth in Shanghai, as the Chinese public are well used to food scandals, such as the use of oil scraped from sewers for cooking, and plasticiser found in baby formula.”

via BBC News – China pulls nearly 6,000 dead pigs from Shanghai river.

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