IKEA joined Europe's ongoing horsemeat scandal Monday after Czech inspectors announced finding equine DNA in "Kottbullar," the furniture retailer's famous Swedish meatballs.
Czech officials say they detected the horsemeat before the meatballs went on sale locally.
But meatballs from the tainted batch were also sent to Slovakia, Ireland, Hungary, France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and the U.K.
An IKEA spokeswoman said all meatballs from that batch were immediately removed from shelves. She also said IKEA had tested its food products two weeks ago and found no traces of horsemeat.
IKEA sells its meatballs cooked in store cafeterias or frozen in 1kg (2.2 pound) take-home bags. About 760kg (1675 pounds) were reportedly pulled before going on sale.
The company is now conducting independent tests to verify the Czech inspectors' results. Meanwhile, all IKEA Sweden stores will stop serving meatballs due to "potential worries among our customers."
