IKEA is the latest company facing a horsemeat scandal after food inspectors in the Czech Republic found traces of horse meat in a batch of IKEA's signature food item, leading the company to recall the dish in the country.
The world's No 1 furniture retailer said it was pulling all meatballs produced by its main supplier in Sweden after the tests showed horsemeat in its beef and pork meatballs. In a posting on its Swedish Facebook page, Ikea first confirmed it was halting all sales of meatballs at its stores in the country.
The majority of the company's meatballs are made by Familjen Dafgard, which is investigating the situation, according to its website.
A total of 760kg (1,675lb) of the meatballs have been intercepted and stopped from reaching Czech shelves, according to the Associated Press.
The withdrawals did not affect meatballs in Norway, Russia, nor some in Switzerland or Poland, which were made by other suppliers, said IKEA spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson at the company's headquarters in Helsingborg, southern Sweden.
"To validate the test results, we are now initiating further tests on the same production batch in which the Czech Republic authorities found indications of horse meat."
The horsemeat traces in Ikea's meatballs follows an incident earlier this year where horsemeat was found in a third of frozen "beef" burgers in Ireland, prompting more food control and supervision. The horsemeat scandal has not yet been reported in any US-sold products.
