Nine cooked food stores that sold fake mutton in Shanghai have been temporarily or permanently closed and 70 kilograms of fake mutton has been destroyed, Shanghai's food safety authority said on Monday.

The Ministry of Public Security revealed on Thursday details of a criminal gang in Jiangyin, Jiangsu province, that produced and sold fake mutton made from fox, mink and rat meat to agricultural markets.

Sixty-three suspects were arrested on suspicion of selling more than 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) worth of fake mutton over three years.