Hundreds arrested in China for selling rat as mutton

More than 900 people have been arrested in a three-month campaign in China for selling rat or fox meat as mutton and beef, state media reported today.

A total of 904 people were captured during the campaign involving meat-related crimes such as producing fake beef and mutton made from rat and fox, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said yesterday.

The ministry said since January 25, police have uncovered 382 cases, and seized more than 20,000 tonnes of illegal products, state-run news agency Xinhua reported.

In one case, the suspects made fake mutton from foxes, mink and rats, after adding chemicals. Crimes also included suspects using a hydrogen peroxide solution to process chicken claws or injecting water into meat to increase its weight, as well as the selling of diseased meat.

The arrests are a part of a national crackdown that will now focus on dairy products. The report quoted an official as saying that China had "deep-seated food safety problems" that needed to be resolved.

In Wuxi, in east China's Jiangsu Province, suspects made fake mutton from fox, mink and rat by adding chemicals. The products were sold to markets and the suspects made more than 10 million yuan (USD 1.62 million).

In southwest China's Guizhou Province, police in March busted two meat processing and selling dens and arrested six suspects.

According to an initial investigation, the suspects had been using hydrogen peroxide solution to process chicken claws since July 2011. With an output of 300 kg per day, suspects made more than 4 million yuan in profits.

Last year there were reports that some suppliers to pharmaceutical firms used reprocessed kitchen waste dredged from restaurant drains to make antibiotics. There was also a high-profile scandal involving the use of melamine in baby milk formula in 2008.