Pork factory closes after 'recovered' pigs claim

A major pork producer has closed its factory in Dezhou, a city in east China's Shandong province, after claims it was using pigs that had recovered from foot and mouth disease.

"We have paid high attention to the news report. We have decided to suspended operation of our Dezhou factory and sealed all of the products there to assist investigation," Shandong-based Jinluo Meat Product Co Ltd said in a statement.

On Wednesday, a news program on China Central Television claimed that the pigs Jinluo had bought were those that had recovered from the disease. However, any animals that had been infected should have been isolated, killed and the bodies disposed of safely.