Visiting Europe? Don't eat the meatballs at Ikea

[Guest lurkerspeaks]

Horsemeat was found in the meatballs at some European Ikea stores..

Ikea Withdraws Meatballs After Horse Meat Is Found By STEPHEN CASTLE Published: February 25, 2013

LONDON — The escalating crisis over horse meat in beef products in Europe claimed another big retail victim Monday when the Swedish furniture giant, Ikea, withdrew meatballs from sale in 14 European countries.

The retailer said it had removed some products from its stores in Sweden after the authorities in the Czech Republic detected horse meat in Ikea meatballs. The company said it had made the decision even though its own tests two weeks ago had not detected horse DNA.

Ikea also announced that it was stopping sales “of the concerned batch” of meatballs in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Britain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Ireland.

“We are now initiating further tests on the same production batch in which the Czech Republic authorities found indications of horse meat,” Ikea added in a statement. It said results were expected in the coming days.

“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,” the statement said.

A traditional part of Swedish cuisine, meatballs are consumed in large quantities by customers in Ikea’s in-store cafeterias, and are also offered, frozen, for sale in Ikea’s in-store food shops for customers to take home.

The discovery came as European Union ministers were meeting in Brussels to discuss how to contain a crisis that began last month in Ireland, spread quickly to Britain, and has now expanded steadily across the Continent.

Around a dozen countries have now been affected, and the scandal has drawn attention to the problems of policing a complex supply chain for processed food in Europe.

The European Union introduced strict traceability laws for fresh beef after the outbreak ofmad cow disease in the 1990’s. Similar controls are not in place for processed meat products.

While pressure for stricter rules is growing, some European nations worry that this could produce an unwieldy and impractical system.

In the meantime, European nations have stepped up DNA tests of meat products to determine their provenance, and these are producing more unwelcome discoveries every week.

Last week Nestlé, one of the best-known food companies in the world, said it was removing pasta meals from store shelves in Italy and Spain. Already most of the big supermarket chains in Britain have withdrawn products, including millions of hamburgers.

Last week, local authorities in Scotland were urged by a procurement agency not to use current stocks of frozen beef products, following the discovery of traces of horse DNA in a frozen burger taken from a Scottish school kitchen
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[AdamSmith]

If you can stand the taste of Ikea's meatballs even in the U.S., a little horse meat one way or the other would hardly seem to make a difference.

[lookin]

If you can stand the taste of Ikea's meatballs even in the U.S., a little horse meat one way or the other would hardly seem to make a difference.

Yes, and the lingonberry sauce covers up a multitude of sins.

Or were those dingleberries?

[RA1]

What are the three things wrong with eating horse meat?

1. Consumers should not be ignorant of what they are eating aka improper labeling or misidentification.

2. The horse meat may not have been inspected by whatever government regulatory agency in charge of approving food for human consumption. However, BO recently approved USDA inspection of horse meat for human consumption, if any were curious.

3. A societal or cultural hang-up about horse meat. We think horses are cuter than cows and pigs are downright ugly. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if you are hungry................

Best regards,

RA1

[lookin]

In case anyone's feeling peckish, below is a horse meat burger recipe from a Montreal grocery chain's website. They recommend serving it on kaiser rolls, though why they don't use sea biscuits is beyond me.

There's another horse meat burger recipe, and several mane course recipes as well. Can a Ralph Woods Burger be far behind?

Recipe ingredients

• 1 lb. (500 g) ground horse meat
• 3 ounces (100 g) Presqu’île cheese
• 1 carton Quebec mushrooms (in season)
• 1 carton Onion sprouts (sold with the alfafa sprouts)
• 1 shallot
• Sufficient quantity, kaiser rolls
• 3 Tbsp. (45 mL) Irresistibles mayonnaise
• 5 mL (1 tsp.) smoked paprika
• Sufficient quantity, butter
• Sufficient quantity, salt and pepper.

Preparation

Very finely chop the shallot.

Combine the horse meat and the shallot, season with salt and pepper.

Make small patties (slightly larger than the buns) and set aside in the refrigerator.

Slice the mushrooms.

Melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a pan. When it foams, add the mushrooms. Do not move the mushrooms around too much in the pan to allow them to caramelize. Season only when they are cooked.

Cook the mini patties on the barbecue or in the oven.

When you flip the patties, place a slice of cheese on top and let it melt.

Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise and the smoked paprika.

Spread the mayo on the buns, place the patties and cheese and garnish with the mushrooms and onion sprouts.

[AdamSmith]

Ummmm!

[Guest CharliePS]

I stop and eat the Swedish meatballs with lingonberries at the Ikea in West Covina almost every time I pass it. My taste buds are not fine enough to distiguish what kind of meat they contain.

[RA1]

If I were to be offered such fare perhaps it would be to the lingonberries I would object.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest parisrio2000]

If you buy precooked ground meat, you get what you deserve...I can't imagine eating lasagna or meatballs out of a box.

Buy your food local and organic, from hippies...of course in Brazil that's not an option. I don't buy "milk" or "butter" from the supermarket here as they have nothing to do with the real products.

[Guest FourAces]

This is so strange. I just returned from Europe and every time I see a school running track or race track I get the urge to do laps

[ihpguy]

PR2K, not sure what is the problem with the butter down here. Ditto the
shelf-stable milk. The butter seems just like in the US and with the
heat and spotty refrigeration, a solution to the problems of
transporting products.

Hilarious. When I was in the US, I always had a box or two of IKEA meatballs in the freezer. I think their chocolate bars are the bomb. Not Valrhona from France, but.... great prices, tasty. And their cookie crisps are nice. Thought the same about the meatballs. Good taste, inexpensive. Easy to make a quick tomato sauce with some garlic and onion, and have a meal with pasta when not enough time to stop at the store for a protein.

They have a nice, inexpensive breakdast to start the day combined with a morning shopping expedition. On trips back to the US, I almost always plan a trip to IKEA and bring a box or two of the meatballs back to my Mom's home and she just turned 95.

Haven't seemed to kill her yet!

[Guest parisrio2000]

In the US you have Whole Foods and other stores that sell organic butter and milk that also tastes much better than the stuff you can get at normal supermarkets. I've stopped eating dairy in Brazil because it's all fake. The only place I hear you can get real dairy is at the fair of Sao Cristovao.

[ihpguy]

There is also a leiteria at the Cobal of Humaita. Just west of the end of Botafogo on the Rua Voluntarios de Patria. Not sure on the fresh milk but they have a crazy wild assortment of cheeses from the Serra north of Rio as well as in the interior of Minas Gerais. I have been told also there exists a leiteria in the Mercado Popular/Common Market of Madureira. But that is a bit of a hike to just see if the leiteria there has fresh milk. Also another popular market just to the north of the boat station at the Praca Arariboia in Niteroi. The fast ferry gets will get you there quick from Praca XV. But if you are staying in the Zona Sul, check out the Cobal first. I have been told by a good friend that they have a superior assortment of cheeses but not sure about the milk sit. If you walk a bit further north past the old Carrefour near the water that has closed, the Mercado Popular of Niteroi has incredible selection of pretty much all things edible, besides linguica brasileira(brasilian man sausage)

[RA1]

This is so strange. I just returned from Europe and every time I see a school running track or race track I get the urge to do laps

But what do you have in your mouth? Not a bit I am willing to assume.

Best regards,

RA1

[JKane]

[lookin]

Actually, I like Ikea's cafeteria. I don't get there much, but the meatballs taste pretty good to me, horse meat or no. And, as ihpguy says, their chocolate bars are quite good and only 99¢ the last time I was there. Better and cheaper than Hershey's, that's for sure.

[AdamSmith]

Aha. I think I see my mixup. When I got home, I must have eaten the laminated particleboard, then assembled a wardrobe out of the meatballs.

[RA1]

I thought it was McDonald's that used particle board; maybe it only tastes like particle board.

I can see you now wearing meatballs. Wait, you must mean a closet like enclosure and here I thought you were out of the closet.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]

I knew the Lady Gaga meat-dress image would come up.

So to speak.

[RA1]

Of course you did. I can see you now, walking your bat on a leash, with it flying and dragging you along.

OK, I have mixed metaphors and TV ads to a faretheewell but trying to decipher life is very much the same.

Best regards,

RA1

[AdamSmith]