ZHENGZHOU -- Shuanghui Group, China's largest meat processor, said Monday that its production and sales, which had been affected by the clenbuterol scandal in March, had returned to normal.

The Henan-based company was among the hardest hit after China Central Television reported that pork products from some pork processors, including Jiyuan Shuanghui, a subsidiary of Shuanghui, were tainted with the fat-burning drug clenbuterol, which is poisonous to humans.

"The scandal was a disaster for the company, but it also prompted us to reflex on the problems in our management and expansion," said Wan Long, chairman of Shuanghui's board of directors.

Wan said that despite sharp losses, the company remained optimistic about its long-term development. As of June, the company had resumed 80 percent of its production and its sales had bounced back to pre-scandal levels, said Wan.

In another statement posted last Friday, the company said it would clean up nearly 3,800 tons of meat, including factory stocks and those returned from the market following the scandal, in a bid to ease consumer concern.

If fed to pigs, clenbuterol can make their meat leaner. The chemical is poisonous to humans and is banned as an additive in stock in China.