Prosecutors said on Wednesday that 15 people had been arrested in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, on charges of selling pigs that had been given fodder containing banned additives.

The additives were ractopamine and clenbuterol, officials from the People's Procuratorate of Guangzhou City told a news briefing here.

The 15 would face charges involving the production and marketing of substandard, toxic and harmful food, the prosecutors said. The charges could mean prison terms of up to five years for those found guilty.

Officials began an investigation after Guangzhou reported 70 cases of clenbuterol poisoning beginning February 18. Ractopamine poisoning cases were also reported, but no number was released.

The suspects were arrested in the districts of Haizhu, Tianhe, Baiyun and Huadu in Guangzhou, as well as Zengcheng, a county-level city under the jurisdiction of Guangzhou, between February 10 and March 17.

The prosecutors did not say when the trial would start.

Ractopamine and clenbuterol help pigs produce leaner pork. The latter chemical is banned as an additive in pig feed in China because it can be harmful and even fatal to humans.

(Xinhua News Agency March 19, 2009)