Horse meat found in Ikea Swedish meatballs sold in Europe

Meatballs in a photo in front of an Ikea store in the Czech Republic. Czech regulators discovered traces of horse meat in frozen Swedish meatballs sold by Ikea in Europe.

Meatballs in a photo in front of an Ikea store in the Czech Republic. Czech regulators discovered traces of horse meat in frozen Swedish meatballs sold by Ikea in Europe. (Radek Mica / AFP/Getty Images)

Burger King, Nestle, Tesco and now Ikea – the European horse meat scandal that has heightened food supply concerns for the last month has now reached the furniture giant’s famed Swedish meatballs.

Inspectors in the Czech Republic said Monday that they found equine evidence in the chain’s frozen meatballs. The affected product was sold as a packaged beef and pork item in more than a dozen European countries but not in the U.S.

The Czech State Veterinary Administration confirmed on its website that samples of the meatballs, which are made in Sweden, contained horse DNA. Shipments of the meatballs have been suspended, according to the agency, which said it sent its findings to European Union authorities.

Supplier Familjen Dafgard wrote on its website that it is “investigating the situation” and that it will “perform ongoing, extensive DNA analysis,” with test results expected in the next few days.

[Updated 9:05 a.m. Feb. 25: In a statement, Ikea said that all meatballs sold in its Ikea U.S. stores are sourced from an American supplier and "contain only beef and pork from animals raised in the U.S. and Canada."

"Customer confidence is of the utmost importance to Ikea," the chain said in its statement. "Ikea is committed to serving and selling high quality food that is safe, healthy and produced with care for the environment and the people who produce it. We do not tolerate any other ingredients than the ones stipulated in our recipes or specifications, secured through set standards, certifications and product analysis by accredited laboratories."]

Ikea is the latest major food provider to be embroiled in the horse meat fiasco, which blew open in January after Irish regulators found products labeled as pure beef that were anything but.

Nestle, the world’s largest food company, discovered traces of equine DNA in some of its Buitoni-brand pasta products last week. Supermarket behemoth Tesco apologized to customers after learning that some of its foodstuffs may have been contaminated.

Last month, Burger King cut ties with an Irish supplier after its patties were roped into the growing collection of lasagnas, shepherd’s pies, pizzas and other items potentially tainted with horse flesh.

[Updated 9:30 a.m. Feb. 25: “Due diligence is becoming ever more important as the global food supply chain expands and becomes more complex,” said Chicago food industry lawyer John T. Shapiro in an email. “The fallout over the horse meat situation is similar to the controversy over pink slime last year – it is as much an issue of labeling and consumer perception.”]

A two-year study of more than 1,200 seafood samples by Oceana, an environmental advocacy group, found that a third of seafood sold in grocery stores and restaurants is mislabeled, the group announced Thursday.

Ikea Group, the Swedish company known for low-cost furniture and home goods, admitted and apologized for contracting with East German suppliers that used forced labor to manufacture the firm's products more than two decades ago.

The consumer price index, a leading measure of inflation, fell last month into negative territory over a 12-month period for the first time since the fall of 2009, when the nation was just emerging from recession. It also fell from December, the third straight month-to-month decline.

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