900 held in China for meat-related crimes

A total of 904 people have been arrested in China during a three-month campaign for crimes such as producing fake beef and mutton made from rat and fox, the ministry of public security said.

Since Jan 25, police have uncovered a total of 382 cases involving meat-related offences, and seized more than 20,000 tonnes of illegal products, Xinhua cited the ministry as saying.

The crimes also included production of water-injected meat, use of chemicals while processing products, as well as selling of diseased and fake meat.

The ministry published a few cases uncovered during the campaign.

In Wuxi, in east Jiangsu province, suspects made fake mutton from fox, mink and rat by adding chemicals. The suspects made more than 10 million yuan (around $1.6 million) by selling such meat.

In southwest Guizhou province, police busted two meat processing dens, where the suspects were using hydrogen peroxide solution to process chicken claws since July 2011.