[caption id="attachment_62499" align="alignright" width="300"] Ikea Meatball scandal prompts withdraw in 20 countries[/caption]IKEA Confirms U.S. Meatballs Contain No Horse Meat

IKEA furniture stores throughout the the world are liked just as much for the store branded meatballs they sell as they are for their selection of affordable home furnishings.

But now IKEA officials are having to address the concerns of customers who love the frozen meatballs they purchase at IKEA to assure them that there is no horse meat contained in the product.

NBC News reports IKEA has confirmed that the famous meatballs served in stores throughout America are comprised of beef and pork products obtained from U.S, suppliers and is in no way connected to the recent recall of meatballs produced in Sweden and being sold at IKEA locations throughout the Czech Republic that were reported to contain evidence of horse meatsaid 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."

"We take seriously the test result from the Czech Republic authorities, indicating presence of horsemeat in one batch of our meatballs," said Anders Lennartsson, of Ikea food services. "The trust of our customers is of outmost importance, which is why the batch of meatballs was immediately withdrawn and we are now taking this extra precautionary measure."

The use of horsemeat in popular food products has become a wide ranging scandal throughout Europe as more and more companies who offer the public prepared meat products are having to recall them due to the unauthorized use of horse meat.

More than a countries have now detected horse meat in various products.

On The Web:

IKEA: No Horse in Meatballs in the US Stores
http://www.cnbc.com/id/100492398