The meat was bound for restaurants, retailers and supermarkets in Hunan province, where it was found, and other Chinese provinces and major cities, according to a report from Xinhua, China's official news agency, on Tuesday.
The seized meat included poultry and beef and was reported to be worth 10 million yuan ($1.6 million).
Some packages were rotten and others were around 40 years old - packed and stamped at the height of China's Cultural Revolution.
According to the Hunan Daily, a local newspaper, officials said some of the beef was from India and passed through Guangxi, a southern region bordering Vietnam.
