One of the nicest things about our visit to Stockholm last fall was the great breakfast buffet in our hotel, which included Swedish meatballs. Imagine my shock when I heard this report on the radio just a moment ago. Via CBC News: Horse found in Ikea meatballs in Europe.
Swedish furniture giant Ikea was drawn into Europe's widening food labeling scandal Monday as authorities said they had detected horse meat in frozen meatballs labelled as beef and pork and sold in 13 countries across the continent.
The Czech State Veterinary Administration said that horse meat was found in one-kilogram (2.2 pound) packs of frozen meatballs made in Sweden and shipped to the Czech Republic for sale in Ikea stores there. A total of 760 kilograms of the meatballs were stopped from reaching the shelves.
Ikea spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson said meatballs from the same batch had gone out to Slovakia, Hungary, France, Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Ireland. Magnusson said meatballs from that batch were taken off the shelves in Ikea stores in all those countries.
Ikea Canada spokesperson Madeleine Loewenborg-Frick said in an email to CBC News that the meatballs sold in Canada are produced in the U.S.
"Therefore, we have no reason to believe that the current situation in Europe affects Canada. We believe this is isolated to one supplier in Sweden," she said.
The company's Swedish branch announced on its Facebook page that it won't sell or serve any meatballs at its stores in Sweden out of concern for "potential worries among our customers."
