Swedish furntiture giant Ikea has been forced to remove it’s almond cake from their in-house restaurants after tests found the cake contained a bacteria usually located in feces (poo), reports Sky News.
1. The Cakes Were Intercepted by Chinese Customs in December 2012
The Shanghai Daily website reports that cakes were seized by Chinese customs officers…
…for containing excessive levels of coliform bacteria…
Around 1,800 cakes, known as Taarta Chokladkrokant, were confiscated and destroyed.
2. Ikea Are Adamant That The Cakes Never Reached Any Ikea Stores
Ikea spokesperson, YIva Magnusson, said:
The product was stopped and destroyed. So none of the cakes made it to our restaurants
She also added, that although the cakes were stopped and destroyed in December, word only got back to Ikea on Monday (4th of March).
According to the Daily Telegraph, another spokesman said:
There is no health risk associated with consuming this product. The production batches have, as per safety and quality routines, been tested for bacteria that can cause health issues, such as E.coli, and none of these pathogen bacteria have been found.
However, since the product does not comply with our strict food quality standards we have decided to withdraw the concerned production batches from sale in the 23 affected countries.
3. The Bacteria Found in the Cake is Known as Coliform
Coliform Bacteria is relatively common, as well as being found in feces, it can be found in water and in soil. It is not toxic to humans, but if ti is are detected it can be sign of more harmful bacteria such as E. Coli.
4. Of the 23 Countries Affected, the US Isn’t One
The countries that are affected are: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates.
5. This Comes After Ikea Became Embroiled in the Horsemeat Scandal in the UK
The signature dish of the furniture giant’s cafeteria has long been its Swedish meatballs. A batch found through a Swedish supplier to the company showed traces of horsemeat. This led to the recalling of all of the meatballs across Europe, with the exception of Russia and Norway. Again the US was not affected.