(CNN) -
A gang of six accused of stealing slaughterhouse horses and selling the meat to restaurants disguised as beef has been detained in southern Brazil, according to authorities.
A statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Ministry (MPRS) indicates that the gang distributed more than 800 kilograms of horse meat a week to restaurants in the Caxias do Sul region. Up to 60% of the restaurants in the area that has beef on the menu and had unknowingly bought horse meat under the guise of steaks and hamburgers, public health officials said.
Inspectors also discovered other forms of spoiled meat, such as rotting pork and turkey, and food scraps from pig feeding establishments mixed into the burgers, the statement said.
Horse meat scandal shakes food industry in Europe
Authorities said an investigation was launched two months ago after the local Agricultural Defense Inspectorate alerted them.
Forensic tests carried out at restaurants that sell hamburgers in Caxias do Sul confirmed the presence of horse DNA in the food, according to prosecutor Alcindo Bastos, who coordinated the operation.
The six people arrested are also accused of running an illegal slaughterhouse with poor hygiene, unsanitary conditions and without authorization to process or sell any type of meat.
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Judge María Cristina Rech imposed preventive detention on the six involved pending trial because the gang represents a serious threat to public health, according to the MPRS.
The case is reminiscent of a scandal that occurred in 2013, in which authorities across Europe discovered the widespread use of horse meat in products labeled as beef.
Many meat eaters in the UK, where horse meat is generally considered taboo, were repulsed by the findings.
Another discovery that year of pork DNA in beef products especially concerned Jews and Muslims, whose food laws prohibit the consumption of pork.
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