Ikea withdraws meatballs after discovery of horsemeat - Dewsbury Hospital food given clean bill of health

Tests conducted by the Czech Republic’s state vetinary administration found traces of equine DNA in products labelled as beef and pork meatballs from Ikea in the city of Brno.

The furniture giant, which has a store at junction 27 in Birstall, has stopped sales of the product in both restaurants and the in-store food markets and said it takes the Czech results seriously.

An IKEA spokesman said the company’s DNA anylyses of meat products began two weeks ago, with 12 tested samples from different batches showing no traces of horsemeat.

He added that further tests were being carried out on a production batch flagged up by Czech inspectors.

“IKEA is committed to serving and selling high quality food that is safe, healthy and produced with care for the environment and the people who produce it,” he said.

“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.”

IKEA has issued a sales stop of meatballs from a Swedish supplier in all European countries except for Norway, Russia and a limited number of products in Switzerland and Poland.

Meanwhile, food at Dewsbury and District Hospital has been given a clean bill of health.

Bosses at Mid Yorkshire Hospitals Trust contacted food suppliers amid the national scandal.

The Trust, which also runs hospitals in Wakefield and Pontefract, had been waiting for “total assurance” that there was no horse meat in food served to patients.

A spokesman said: “The Trust has asked the suppliers of all of its meat products for assurance that they contain no traces of horse meat. It has been given this assurance.”

Mid Yorkshire procures food products for Dewsbury and District Hospital.

Balfour Beatty, the company which runs Pontefract Hospital and Pinderfields in Wakefield under a Private Finance Agreement, has also given an assurance about the meals it served.