Wan Long, board chairman of Shuanghui Group, apologizes at a meeting on Thursday to consumers for a tainted pork scandal.

China's top prosecution body has filed charges of breach of duty against 16 government officials implicated in a tainted pork scandal, while the alleged misdeeds of another 41 are still being probed.

An official with the Supreme People's Procuratorate confirmed to China Daily that investigations are being conducted into the actions of 12 civil servants, who include quarantine inspectors and animal-epidemic prevention coordinators in Central China's Henan province, as well as four officials from the commerce bureau and animal health control department in East China's Jiangsu province.

The official, who asked to not be named, said prosecutors also have another 41 officials in Henan under scrutiny and have applied coercive measures against 72 farmers and brokers suspected of producing and selling tainted pork.

The Henan-based Jiyuan Shuanghui Food Co Ltd, was accused this past month of purchasing pigs fed with clenbuterol, an illegal addictive also described as "lean meat powder". The banned supplement, which is often used to produce leaner meat, can cause heart palpitations and dizziness in human beings.

Wan Long, board chairman of Shuanghui Group, apologized to consumers on behalf of the company on Thursday, the second time he has done so after the exposure of the company's use of the illegal additive.