Clenobuterol hydrochloride, or "lean meat drug" as it is known among meat industry insiders, is an animal drug banned for use in China. In Henan Province's pork production region, however, pig farmers have used this prohibited chemical to raise so-called "bodybuilder pigs," which then enter the processing plants of Shuanghui, China's largest meat processing company.

Recently, this so-called "bodybuilder pork" has been extremely popular on the market. Compared with normal pork, this kind of pork has almost no fat.

CCTV reporters investigating the story found bulging, muscular "bodybuilder pigs" at several well-known pork farms they visited in Mengzhou City, Henan Province.

According to local farmers, to raise a "bodybuilder pig," one must add a special drug to its feed. Pigs raised this way are not only well-built; they carry a high price. However, the farmers said they would never eat pigs raised in this way.

This mysterious drug has been called the "melanine" of the meat industry. Chemically speaking, a "lean meat drug" usually refers to clenobuterol hydrochloride, an andrenal nerve stimulant. Adding this chemical to feed can cause an animal to grow more lean meat while using less feed. This makes the meat ready to go to market earlier, thereby decreasing production costs.

It was reported that in Henan Province's Mengzhou City, Qingyang City, Wenxian County and Huojia County, using clenobuterol hydrochlorine to raise bigger, leaner pigs is already an open secret.

A caing.com report says that a farmer can buy approved quarantine certificates and other necessary paperwork for sick pigs for only 2 yuan per head. Another 100 yuan bribe to the Henan Province Border Checkpoint buys the farmer a safe trip all the way to slaughterhouses in Nanjing without testing for the drug. Finally, for another 10 yuan per head, the farmer gets an approved "animal product health safety certificate," and the pigs can legally enter the market for sale to the public.