Horsemeat found in Ikea meatballs

Ikea in Southampton Ikea in Southampton

Furniture giant Ikea has stopped selling traditional meatballs in its Swedish store restaurants after horsemeat was discovered in a batch exported to the Czech Republic.

The company, which has a store in Southampton, said the move was out of concern for ''potential worries among our customers'', adding its own controls had not shown any traces of horse.

It was not clear if Ikea would also stop selling meatballs in other countries The horse meatballs were labelled as beef and pork and were in one-kilo frozen packs sent to the Czech Republic for sale in Ikea stores there.

A total of 760 kilos (1,675lbs ) of the meatballs were stopped from reaching the shelves.

Ikea's furniture stores feature restaurants and also sell typical Swedish food, including the Kottbullar meatballs.

The Czechs also found horsemeat in beef burgers imported from Poland during random tests of food products.

Meanwhile EU agriculture ministers met in Brussels to discuss the widening scandal's fallout, with some member states pressing for tougher rules to regain consumer confidence.

They must agree on binding origin disclosures for food product ingredients, starting with a better labelling of meat products, German agriculture minister Ilse Aigner said.

''Consumers have every right to the greatest-possible transparency,'' she insisted.

She backs the German initiative; but others like Ireland say existing rules are sufficient although Europe-wide controls must be strengthened to address the problem of fraudulent labelling.

The scandal has created a split between nations like Britain who see further rules as a protectionist hindrance of free trade under the bloc's single market, and those calling for tougher regulation.

Comments(31)

bigfella777 says...
12:15pm Mon 25 Feb 13

I have never eaten them, I always go for the smoked salmon on rye bread with a bit of salad, but you do see people with plates piled up with them and of course chips with some hideous looking beige sauce on top.Why cant people make sensible food choices and then meatballs wouldn't even exist.

bernard7 says...
12:17pm Mon 25 Feb 13

I eat them all the time, they are very nice so continue with the horse meat recipe, just making us aware that it is in them would have been nice.

jade25 says...
12:25pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Ewwwwww

Reality-man says...
12:30pm Mon 25 Feb 13

bernard7 wrote:
I eat them all the time, they are very nice so continue with the horse meat recipe, just making us aware that it is in them would have been nice.
And they've not given you the trotts?

bernard7 says...
12:43pm Mon 25 Feb 13

No, just plenty of protein from the added horsemeat, i dont know why we dont eat it anyway, cheaper than beef and just as good if not better.

lambo83 says...
1:06pm Mon 25 Feb 13

I think horse meat is the least of your worries with the meat balls.

soton-mike80 says...
1:19pm Mon 25 Feb 13

I do not see that eating horse meat in is a negative thing (is it any different to Australians eating Kangaroo, or South Africans eating Springbok?) - just label the packaging correctly and have done with it.

Now knowing the far reaching implications of the 'horsemeat scandal' we have all probably been eating it for years! Is anyone worst off for it? probably not!

localnews says...
1:39pm Mon 25 Feb 13

I asked for them but was told AND THEY'RE OFF

Big Mac says...
1:46pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Try the flat-pack version – though never easy to know where to start – and don't be surprised if there's some odd bits and pieces left at the end.

lambo83 says...
1:53pm Mon 25 Feb 13

I don't care what anyone says, for me they're the dogs bolox.

Subject48 says...
2:31pm Mon 25 Feb 13

@lambo83

save your breath. Pc animal loving brigade is up in strength.

If Its not human= means it must be food.

Dogs **** are a delicacy in korea I hear.

shirley-bill says...
2:46pm Mon 25 Feb 13

has the signs says..... you dont get this at john lewis,,,, lol

Tenderhearts wife says...
3:06pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Ikea is a nasty airless, souless place so why anyone would chose to eat or drink there is beyond me anyway, but John Lewis, yep now your talking! nice bright resturant with food that you can see being cooked,always a safe bet!

bernard7 says...
3:34pm Mon 25 Feb 13

I like to avoid john lewis and eat at ikea for the following reasons:

1. It's a lot cheaper
2. I like horsemeat
3. I can easily avoid pretentious tw@ts who think they are better than everyone else just because they are lucky enough to be able to afford to eat at john lewis. Maybe, some people are not that lucky and are just happy with what they can afford.

irl99 says...
3:55pm Mon 25 Feb 13

bigfella777 wrote:
I have never eaten them, I always go for the smoked salmon on rye bread with a bit of salad, but you do see people with plates piled up with them and of course chips with some hideous looking beige sauce on top.Why cant people make sensible food choices and then meatballs wouldn't even exist.
You seem to forget the medicines that are pumped in to horses.bute is a very dangerous drug for humans. And if they knowingly label it beef. Knowing its horse. What else is in the "meat" don't be so naive.stop eating them.

bernard7 says...
4:19pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Well i bet we have been eating horse meat among other meats for years, it has been proven that the level of bute, if it is actually in the meat, is more than likely a very tiny harmless dose.

As long as it's all edible meat and nothing too dangerous i am really not that fussed.

People get all funny when they find out sausages have pig's face meat or trotters in? Why? Are they worried we might all grow trotters? It's harmless just shut up and eat it.

rightway says...
4:30pm Mon 25 Feb 13

So long as they haven’t been pumped full of harmful drugs, what’s wrong with eating horse meat.
The New Forest would be a great place to invest in horse farming, there are already a large number of free range ponies just waiting to be snapped up. It’s a win win situation, those flee bitten nags would no longer be a problem to law abiding motorists, the speed limit could be increased, the local economy would benefit and the people in the surrounding area would feel good about buying local produce.

Big Mac says...
4:30pm Mon 25 Feb 13

bernard7 wrote:
I like to avoid john lewis and eat at ikea for the following reasons:

1. It's a lot cheaper
2. I like horsemeat
3. I can easily avoid pretentious tw@ts who think they are better than everyone else just because they are lucky enough to be able to afford to eat at john lewis. Maybe, some people are not that lucky and are just happy with what they can afford.
How does luck play a part? Unless of course you mean there are plenty of people who chose to eat there and they are 'lucky' to get a table as it's so popular?
Get yourself another scratch card and you never know, one day you may be 'lucky' enough to dine at John Lewis.

bernard7 says...
5:10pm Mon 25 Feb 13

Did you just come back at me with a name like Big Mac. I can only guess what your preffered eatery is.

Perhaps my use of the word luck was in the wrong context there and i used it rather as a turn of phrase rather than to state it's exact meaning.

May i further point out the fact that i did not say that I could not afford to eat at john lewis; just that some people may not be able to and should not be judged based on there less pretentious choice of restaurant.

Immediately jumping to the conclusion that i like to buy scratch cards just sums up you as a person. I bet your just a really nice guy aren't you...

ohec says...
5:17pm Mon 25 Feb 13

lambo83 wrote:
I don't care what anyone says, for me they're the dogs bolox.
No thats next week.

Subject48 says...
5:43pm Mon 25 Feb 13

haaa.

eurogordi says...
7:27pm Mon 25 Feb 13

We are throwing away edible food products worth millions, while people in this country and other parts of the world struggle to make ends meet and, in extreme circumstances, have no food at all. That is far more immoral than poor food labelling.

Have I eaten horse meat? Yes, in France if not more recently in Hampshire! Did it kill me? No. Has anyone else died from eating horse meat? Not that I'm aware of.

Let's sell the meat at reduced prices or at the very least give it to various charities. It doesn't bother me if I've eaten horse and it probably doesn't bother the majority of other people either.

miniminime says...
10:29pm Mon 25 Feb 13

bigfella777 wrote:
I have never eaten them, I always go for the smoked salmon on rye bread with a bit of salad, but you do see people with plates piled up with them and of course chips with some hideous looking beige sauce on top.Why cant people make sensible food choices and then meatballs wouldn't even exist.
You've obviously not been to Sweden where meatballs and a polony style meat along with boiled potatoes are part of their staple diet!

zuki12 says...
12:40am Tue 26 Feb 13

Dr told me to watch what I eat, So I am going to watch the Grand National

irl99 says...
7:37am Tue 26 Feb 13

Nothing wrong wth horsemeat.it is one of the highest protein low fat and its cheap. I would eat horse. But the way it has got in the food chain with no checks. That is the problem at present. It could be totally unfit for human consumption. You just don't know what condition it is in.

Big Mac says...
8:50am Tue 26 Feb 13

bernard7 wrote:
Did you just come back at me with a name like Big Mac. I can only guess what your preffered eatery is.

Perhaps my use of the word luck was in the wrong context there and i used it rather as a turn of phrase rather than to state it's exact meaning.

May i further point out the fact that i did not say that I could not afford to eat at john lewis; just that some people may not be able to and should not be judged based on there less pretentious choice of restaurant.

Immediately jumping to the conclusion that i like to buy scratch cards just sums up you as a person. I bet your just a really nice guy aren't you...
Yes.

user12 says...
12:40pm Tue 26 Feb 13

Believe me BUTE is the least of your worries...If i could list the medication used on my horse in the past 3 years maybe you will all get your naive heads out of your backside. I wouldn't eat horse meat but have no problem with anyone that does, that's a personal choice. But i believe you need to nderstand tht if the supply chain is lying at source it is lying about it's source. Justt saying...

Rob444 says...
1:52pm Tue 26 Feb 13

As many British people waste good money on illegal drugs, they will be trying to get hold of this dodgy meat to get a cheap kick.

Just a matter of time before safe horse meat will be in demand by the general public, as it's supposed to be cheaper and healthier than cow meat.

OSPREYSAINT says...
8:43pm Tue 26 Feb 13

They will be saying that they found some decent wood in their furniture next!

SPIKEISLANDTRADER says...
10:29pm Tue 26 Feb 13

Elephant **** in our B.P. fuel next , that will keep us going .

wake up says...
10:50pm Tue 26 Feb 13

OSPREYSAINT wrote:
They will be saying that they found some decent wood in their furniture next!
yeh a horse called ikeameatball 3.35 at

GOODWOOD

click2find

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