Truckloads of old, smuggled meat, some frozen since the 1970s, were found in a nationwide crackdown that unearthed half-a-billion dollars worth of it.

The meat took a winding route into China – first imported into Hong Kong, then to Vietnam and finally smuggled into China, The New York Times reports.

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It was then relabelled, refrozen and sold on to retailers, restaurants and supermarkets. Some was sold online, Chinese media reports said.

To save money the meat was moved in unrefridgerated trucks, according to the report.

“A truck full of it. I almost threw up when the door opened,” a customs official told Xinhua news agency of the discovery.

Chinese customs discovered about 91,000 tonnes of meat and arrested 20 smuggling gang members.

China has been rocked by food quality scandals in the past and is sensitive to them. One social media user quoted by the New York Times took a sardonic tone, when he said, “A bottle of 1982 Lafite plus a piece of ‘70s steak and a pair of ‘80s chicken wings, bon appétit!”