BEIJING — Police have busted 11 groups suspected of selling pork from pigs that died of diseases in a crackdown on food safety violations and arrested more than 110 suspects.

Seventy-five of the suspects have been prosecuted, the Ministry of Public Security said on Jan 11. Several food quarantine staff were also sent to prosecuting organs for possible duty-related crimes.

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

Since 2008, these groups collected and purchased dead pigs from livestock farms and farmers at a discounted price. The carcasses should have been properly disposed of, the ministry said.

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