Brazil's Latest Scandal: Bribes, Acid and Tainted Meat Sales
- Affected food allegedly sold in Brazil to schools, Wal-Mart
- JBS, BRF stocks and bonds plunge after police search plants
A customer shops for meat in a supermarket in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, March 17, 2017.
Photographer: Victor Moriyama/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Brazilians are used to scandal and allegations of corruption, but the latest headline-grabbing police investigation has the country entering new realms that are both stomach-turning and slightly surreal.
Federal authorities announced Friday they’re investigating evidence that companies including JBS SA and BRF SA, the nation’s largest meat producers, bribed government officials to approve the sale and export of contaminated meat. Federal police served hundreds of court orders, including more than 30 detention warrants, in what local media says is the largest police operation in the country’s history.