After the detection of bacteria related to human or animal waste by Chinese officials, Ikea has announced the withdrawal of a batch of almond cake from its stores.
The furniture giant based in Sweden indicated that cakes had been removed from stores in 23 countries due to the identification of ‘excessive levels of coliform bacteria’.
While the existence of such bacteria does not automatically confirm the presence of faecal matter within the product, it has raised alarms about the potential presence of additional harmful bacteria like E.coli.
This revelation follows just a week after Ikea halted sales of its well-known meatballs due to the discovery of horse DNA in a batch from the Czech Republic, which led to the subsequent withdrawal of its weiner sausages after further testing.
In light of the recent controversy, a number of consumers have already voiced concerns regarding their future food purchases from the multinational corporation.
A representative from Ikea stated: ‘There is no health risk linked to the consumption of this product. Our safety and quality protocols require production batches to be tested for health-affecting bacteria such as E.coli, and none of these pathogen bacteria have been detected.
‘Nevertheless, we have opted to withdraw the affected production batches from sale in the 23 countries due to non-compliance with our rigorous food quality standards.’
The issues with the Taarta Chokladkrokant cakes were uncovered when the batch was intercepted by Chinese customs, leading to its destruction before it reached store shelves.
On the company’s website, the product is characterized as ‘an almond cake with chocolate, butter cream and butterscotch’.
