Dovsai Director Datuk Haji Awang Sahak Salleh said the operator of this small farm in Sandakan had stopped using the drug after a reminder by the department.

This was proven in follow-up action, including blood and urine samples of the breeding pigs, taken by the department to ensure the farm was in the clear.

"That was the only one case detected by us in Sabah since last year. As far as the department is concerned, we have not detected anymore pig farms especially the commercial ones using the drug," he said.

Nevertheless, he said, the department will continue to monitor the situation in Sabah and conduct regular random checks on the 96 pig farms that are mostly in Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Sandakan.

Awang Sahak was asked to comment on the use of Beta-Agonist, which not only makes pork leaner but also shortens the breeding period by nearly a month, in pig farms particularly in the peninsula.

Source: Daily Express