Farms in the Chinese capital of Beijing are feeding livestock on safer forage treated with traditional Chinese herbal remedies, the Beijing Youth Daily reports Tuesday.

Workers in the Fengkehui Biological Science and Technology Company, Beijing's first herbal forage research and development company, first grind the herbal ingredients into powder then mix them together in certain proportions.

After filtering, purification and mixing processes, the herbal forage for pigs, chickens and ducks is produced.

The herbal forage could reduce inflammation, boost immunity to viruses and build up the livestock, said Liu Changjiu, a research fellow with the Feed Industry Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Liu said the major herbal remedies used in the forage included hawthorn, dried tangerine peel, red pepper, ginger and garlic.

Most forage additives around the world these days are chemical stimulants and all kinds of antibiotics.

Pork and the eggs of chickens fed on the herbal forage are on sale in the Beijing market.

(Xinhua News Agency February 11, 2003)