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Subscribe to RSSCzech Republic officials say traces of horse meat were discovered in frozen packages of meatballs sent to their country for sale at furniture giant Ikea. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Shoppers who relish the popular meatballs sold in IKEA furniture stores in the United States don’t have to worry that they’re getting a serving of horse meat in their snacks, store officials said Monday.
The pork and beef used in Ikea meatballs in the U.S. comes from a domestic supplier and is not related to a recall of frozen meatballs in the Czech Republic, said Mona Liss, a store spokeswoman.
“We can confirm that the contents of the meatballs follow the IKEA recipe and contain only beef and pork from animals raised in the U.S. and Canada,” Liss said in a statement to NBC News. “All beef and pork from the U.S. and Canada must comply with USDA guidelines.”
IKEA pulled 1,675 pounds of one-kilogram packs of frozen meatballs made in Sweden and shipped to the Czech Republic for sale in IKEA stores after the Czech State Veterinary Administration detected traces of horse meat in the products, the Associated Press reported.
IKEA’s furniture stores worldwide feature restaurants and also sell food typical of the store’s home country, including the wildly popular Kottbullar meatballs.
IKEA is the latest global firm to grapple with a horse meat scandal that has been spreading through Europe for the past month. Food giants Nestle and Birds Eye recalled prepared meat products last week after tests detected horse meat in ravioli, lasagna and chili con carne. Both of those firms said that U.S. operations are separate and that no meat implicated in the European scandal has been used in food in America.
U.S. Department of Agriculture officials also told NBC News that it’s highly unlikely that beef or pork adulterated with horse meat will make it into the nation’s food supply. Strict labeling and inspection requirements are aimed at making sure all meats are what they say they are.
However, USDA officials also acknowledge that testing for specific species in shipments of meat is conducted only when there’s reason to suspect a problem.
In 1981, shipments of boneless beef from Australia were found to be adulterated with both horse meat and kangaroo. That finding forced the detention and inspection of more than 66 million pounds of meat – and led to stricter inspection efforts, USDA officials said.
European officials are conducting random DNA tests after traces of horse meat began turning up in frozen beef patties and prepared foods in the past month.
More than a dozen nations have now detected horse meat in various products.
Related stories:
- Horse found in IKEA meatballs, Czech officials say
- Horse meat in the US? Unlikely, but tests are rare
- 'Fraud on a massive scale:' Europe's horse meat scandal keeps growing
Leave a Comment:
IKEA is the first place I think of when I want meatballs.
Try congress.
But what if I want horse in my meatballs? Anyway. IKEA has pretty good Swedish meatballs. We get them from there every Christmas.
Obviously you've never shopped there. In their deli it's one of their delicacies.
Ikea is the first place I think about when I think about horsemeat.
Dammit, I LVOE IKEA'S SWEEDISH MEATBALLS !! Specially prepared from the Schweddy MeatBall Family recipe. Just whatever you do, don't tell me what they make that white kreem out of. I DON'T WANNA KNOW. I LVOE it too much. Tempe IKEA's is where I get mine.
Realistically, I don't even CARE if they use horse meat to make food products. If it's delicious, it's good.
Another source of great MeatBalls on the East Coast: Washington DC, Senator Pete "Hide The Salami" Domenici.
For Swedish meatballs, yes, IKEA is the first place you should be thinking.
Furniture and meatballs, what a combination!
Horse skin, horse hair, and horse meat. Ikea uses every part of a horse.
Horse meat? Neigh!
Try some.
No horse balls, what a relief!
Yeah. Those things are actually pretty good!
no horse, just a hint of rat...
...the other white meat
sounds like I know where that horse, Tripod, ended up.
I think rat meat is red. Snake is the other, other white meat.
IKEA and meatballs? Does the furniture store sell meatballs or are they given as a treat when you come in and buy their furniture?
They have a restaurant inside, and the meatball plate is just very popular.
Another non-IKEA shopper heard from. Their meatballs are wonderful. So is the lingonberry jam.
It's articles like these that stick in the back of your mind even if the meatballs were proven horse-free. I will not eat a meatball at IKEA because I will always be thinking......."Euw" when I see them.
Horse meat is actually higher in all nutrients than in other meats. Maybe they should start charging more for their meatballs!
Suds, I enjoy the way you spell "Euw". You spell it the way it sounds.
Euw. Mystery MeatBallz & white kreem on slimy nooodels. Euw.
As much meat as is imported into our frozen food, especially that from China and Mexico, it would greatly surprise me if we didn't have horse meat or who knows what in our food.
Chupacabra meat?
A real news story would be if they found any wood in IKEA furniture.
There's real wood in IKEA's furniture. They just give the wood an unpronounceable goofy name.
I'm sure many people in Sweden think everything that comes out of your mouth sounds goofy and unpronounceable, too.
Is there any horse in Ikea's glue?
There it is, it wasn't meat but glue that got in the meat our bad. Come to find out we need the glue to make the saw dust taste like meat.
We know this because we intentionally put it in meat in other countries. We don't put it in the meat in the United States because, we like you.
.
I don't get it. Is there some moral or health reason people don't want to eat horse meat? If not, and you can't tell the difference when you eat it, what's the problem?
It's only a problem if it's labelled as something else. If I buy "beef", I don't expect it to include horse (or rat, or dog, or gawd-knows-what).
Some people have major ethical problems with the consumption of horse meat. I don't, so much - so I'll let someone else comment on that if they like.
I don't want to eat the meat of an animal used for transportation and work. We (normally) don't ride chickens, cows and pigs, or make them perform manual labor.
Cheap European Meatballs, cheap European furniture.
Another reason to stay away from processed foods people ....BTW ...I don't believe them
What's wrong with horse meat? Horse meat, cat meat, dog meat, eat em all! Be a man.
Just shake several drops of Tabasco or Sriracha Rooster sauce on the meet -- PROBLEM SOLVED.
Meat is Meat.
Just remember: You don't get any Pudding if you don't eet your Meat.
Like the average "Joe Blow" eating at Ikea could tell the difference between horse meat and beef anyway..... Ever try their bacon? It's sliced so thin you have to put several slices in your mouth to even start to begin to tasting it. But what do you want when bacon and eggs with potatoes only cost $.99 . All I'm saying is, you get what you pay for.
I ask you, what else could IKEA say? They're obviously not going to come out and say yes, we serve horse meat.
Why not? There's nothing wrong with horse meat. It's not illegal to serve in most places. It's leaner and just as nutritious. If they advertised it as such, people got over their little hang ups, and they tried it, some people might actually find something they liked and is perfectly acceptable in many cultures. Instead the average American Joe just continues to make themselves look like the rear end of the horse to the rest of the world with their hypocrisy on what is good to eat and what isn't.
good point!
If horse meat was so great then why all the lies of omission? Why not just come out and say it? "Your Philly Cheese Steak was last seen running last in the Belmont."
If horse meat was so great then why even bring the cows along on a cattle drive? Why not just eat the horses that you are driving to markets, too? Ever try fitting a saddle on a cow? Ever try riding a cow? Ever try chasing down a buffalo on a cow? Horse meat better? Yeah. Right.
Yes, it IS illegal to sell horse meat for human consumption in the U.S. Congress lifted the ban on slaughterhouses for horses last year, but it is still illegal to sell it for human consumption. Sure, you'll find stories on the Internet saying this chef put it on his menu or this market is openly selling horse meat, but they're all doing so illegally.
The biggest problem with selling horse meat from U.S. horses is that most of the horses come from the racing industry. Those horses have been so pumped up with drugs over their lifetimes, especially one called 'bute' (phenylbutone - a known carcinogen), that no one should consider consuming that meat. Right now, these horses are shipped to Canada and Mexico for slaughtering and the meat is shipped to Europe and Asia. Lucky them.
Don't form a bad opinion about horse meat until you've tried it.
Excuse me! If horse meat was so great than why do we have all these cows and cow restaurants? Tell me that why don't you?
They slaughter horses in Canada too so if the supply is coming from Canada how do they really know. They aren't saying they've tested.
If those meatballs have any real meat in them, horse or otherwise, they are still a step up from anything McDonalds sells you...
How can you tell if they're telling the truth though? Does horse meat have a particular distinctive flavor that gives it away like lamb does, for example?
There is nothing wrong with horse meat per se, however the problem is they allow drugs in horses that are not approved for human consumption, so they can't allow the meat to be eaten. Horse meat, like many other meats (snake, alligator, ostrich, bear, bigfoot, deer etc.) tastes a little different, but certainly not bad! Besides I always tell people that if they eat it, they will end up hung like a horse-Works every time!!
You had me until the "hung" part. Obviously, you have never breed horses. The stallion, the manly man horse, he's like done in a minute. The stallion beats premature ejaculation in the human male by a mile. So, you want to sell the merits of horse meat based on virility? How about horses make better glue than humans do?
Who cares! Meat is meat. We are the only prudish country not to eat the fruits of mother nature!
Fine. Then you be the one going into a restaurant and ordering a "Meat Sandwich."
You watch. This thing about Europeans and their diet consisting mainly of consuming substantial quantities of horsemeat is very quickly going to devolve into Americans eating even more humongous, even more massive quantities of horsemeat. McDonalds and Burger King are just rolling on the floor laughing hysterically at us right now. Calling Americans the biggest bunch of "Suckers!" ever. I think I am going to be sick.
Famous phonetically equivalent denials, really . . .
Really! :-o