Local govt responds to exposé of toxic ginger  

潍坊官员正面回应剧毒农药种姜事件 披露排查结果

自媒体曝光山东省潍坊市峡山区使用“神农丹”剧毒农药种姜后，引起社会广泛关注，7日，潍坊市农业局局长王汉成通过本网独家披露潍坊市对“神农丹”种姜事件的最新拉网式排查结果。

Weifang (ECNS) -- The government of Weifang, a city in Shandong province, has said that a pesticide merchant has been detained and a local ginger field re-plowed. The announcement comes after the illegal sale and use of a pesticide in the area was exposed by China Central Television last Saturday.

Wang Hancheng, head of Weifang's agricultural bureau, told reporters that a series of inspections and measures have been taken since the exposé.

The head of a shop selling the toxic pesticide aldicarb has been detained by local police, and 5 kilograms of the substance have been confiscated, he said, adding that the shop owner had sold 275 kilograms of aldicarb to farmers in two villages under Xiashan district.

Altogether 126 mu (8.4 hectares) of fields where toxic ginger was planted have been re-plowed, and 986,000 mu of vegetables, together with 203,000 mu of fruits, have been inspected and no illegal use of toxic pesticide has been found, Wang said.

The local government is also cracking down on the overuse of pesticides, he said.

Read more: Toxic ginger plowed under after exposé

            Pesticide seller detained