Over 900 arrested in China for meat-related crimes

BEIJING - A total of 904 people in China were captured during a three-month campaign involving meat-related crimes such as producing fake beef and mutton made from rat and fox, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on Thursday.

The ministry said since January 25, police had uncovered 382 cases involving meat-related offenses, and seized more than 20,000 tonnes of illegal products.Crimes also included the production of water-injected meat, the use of chemicals while processing products, as well as the selling of diseased and fake meat.

The ministry published five typical cases uncovered during the campaign.

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 (1.62 million US dollars) from the illegal activities.

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.

An unidentified official from the MPS said the police's actions are the first part of a campaign aiming at all crimes relating to food safety.

The police are now focusing on crimes involving dairy products, said the official, adding that there are some deep-seated food safety problems which have not yet been solved.