March 26, 2013

Over 1,000 dead ducks were fished out from a river in Sichuan province in south west China. This comes after 16,000 dead pigs were found in a section of Huangpu river which supplied drinking water to the Shanghai city.

The dead birds have been handled safely and did not pose a threat to local residents and livestock, officials said. They were stuffed in 50 plastic woven bags, disinfected and buried three meters underground in a designated area, they said.

Local official Liang Weidong said that authorities have not yet been able to determine the cause of death as some of the ducks were decomposed.

Officials said that the dead ducks were found in Nanhe River, along the middle reaches of the Minjiang River in Sichuan, which is not a source of drinking water. In both cases, local officials have said the water of the rivers had not been polluted.

The scandal has highlighted China's troubles with food safety, adding the country's most popular meat to a growing list of food items rocked by controversy. Animals that die from disease can end up in China's food supply chain if improperly disposed of, despite laws against the practice.