More than 100kg of what was described as beef seized from a house in Nakhon Pathom last month has been confirmed to be fake.
Lab tests revealed the meat was in fact dyed pork, according to the Department of Livestock.
The pork, which had been steeped in pig's blood used as a natural dye to make it look like more expensive beef, was destined to be sold to barbecue eateries mostly in Bangkok, according to the department.
The house in Nakhon Chaisri district was raided in an operation jointly conducted by the department and the Consumer Protection Police Division on Oct 12, said Sorawit Thanito, the department director-general.
The house supplied the fake beef to many barbecue eateries in Bangkok. The meat was also sold online.
The taskforce took seven meat samples from the house. They were examined in a lab where three of the samples were found to contain hazardous microbes and the others contained pig DNA.
The officials were unable to find where the meat had come from or whether it had been the product of illegal slaughtering.
During the raid, the officials also confiscated 300kg of cattle carcasses for examination. The confiscation order was lifted this week although it was unclear if the carcasses carried any diseases. The department said the carcasses were to be destroyed at the livestock quarantine facility in Nakhon Pathom.
The department said it was pressing charges against the owner of the house for violating livestock and consumer laws.
The department also issued a warning to owners of barbecue food outlets and customers.