Tests conducted by Russian food safety regulator Rosselkhoznadzor have identified that beef and pork sold at French hypermarket chain Auchan contained horse, chicken and cow meat.
As part of its testing, Rosselkhoznadzor found pig, chicken and sheep DNA in beef mince samples collected from Auchan.
The regulator also found that Auchan sold pork mince tained with DNA from cattle, chicken and sheep.
Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement that its findings "allow the conclusion to be drawn that the food products are falsified by replacing one kind of meat with another that is less expensive."
Auchan Russia spokeswoman Maria Kurnosova was quoted by AFP as saying that the company had launched an internal investigation to find out the reasons behind the violations if they took place.
Last month, Rosselkhoznadzor said that the French hypermarket chain was allegedly adding extra days to the best-before dates on chilled meat products in its distribution warehouses in the Moscow region.
Earlier in 2013, European stores were accused of selling horsemeat as beef in ready foods. This scandal paved way for stricter investigations.
