ZHENGZHOU - Three senior animal husbandry officials in Central China's Henan province have been suspended from duty, while other officials were in police custody after pigs tested positive for a chemical poisonous to humans, the provincial government said on Friday.

Chiefs of animal husbandry bureaus in Mengzhou city, Qinyang city and Wenxian county received duty suspension notices after 52 pigs tested positive for clenbuterol, which is poisonous to humans, said Liu Xuezhou, a member of the provincial food safety leadership group.

Another 27 officials in the province were in police custody, sacked or suspended from duty, said Liu, who is also chief of Henan provincial department of health.