Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used as a tool to identify adulterated beef in raw meat mixtures, incorporating chicken or turkey meat in different proportions, 0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 40%, and 100%. Six regions with characteristic bands were determined where significant differences were observed depending on the proportion of the substitution. In hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), dendrograms for wavenumbers between 2,980–2,800 cm−1 and 1,140–1,020 cm−1 provided effective differentiation for chicken meat adulteration, while for 1,290–1,210 cm−1 and 2,880–2,800 cm−1 were distinctive for turkey meat. In principal component analysis (PCA), whole spectrum, fingerprint (1,500–900 cm−1), 1,290–1,210 cm−1, and 1,480–1,425 cm−1 were used in the discrimination of turkey and chicken meats. Furthermore, the 1,760–1,710 cm−1 was significantly robust in chicken meat identification. PCA provided better classification than HCA in both adulterated mixtures. Our results showed that FTIR spectroscopy is a valuable tool to detect chicken or turkey meat adulteration in beef mixtures. Practical applications Fraudulent substitution in meat products is a growing concern that affects consumers, international and regional trade, and the meat industry at large. This exploratory study demonstrates that FTIR spectroscopy coupled with chemometric methods that facilitate the analysis of chemical data could become a robust, reliable technique to help in the detection of food fraud in the meat sector and beyond. This method is sensitive to meat composition variations, accurately reproduces results; and it is easy to use and low cost in comparison to traditional methods. The results demonstrated that FTIR spectroscopy brings specificity at the time of analyzing the kind of substitution that takes place because of the characteristics bands that help identify the added foreign meat material.