110 held for selling unclean pork

A Chinese customer buys pork at a free market in Yichang city, central China's Hubei province, 19 November 2014. [Photo/IC]

BEIJING - Chinese police have busted 11 groups suspected of selling pork from pigs died of diseases in a crackdown on food safety crimes, arresting more than 110 suspects.

Seventy-five of the suspects have been prosecuted, the Ministry of Public Security said Sunday. Several food quarantine staff were also sent to prosecuting organs for possible duty-related crimes.

Police also confiscated over 1,000 tons of contaminated pork and 48 tons of cooking oil processed from the pork and other unclean meats, according to the ministry.

Since 2008, these groups, which collected, purchased pigs died of illnesses from livestock farms and farmers at a low price and segmented the pigs which should have been subjected to harmless disposal, the ministry said.

They also bribed staff from food supervising authorities to get quarantine certificates, it added. The pork then flowed to markets in 11 provinces including Hunan, Henan and Guangxi, or were processed into bacon, ham or cook oil for sale, it said.