14 DAY TRIAL // It was not very long ago that Ikea made headlines, all thanks to their meatballs getting dragged into the horsemeat scandal.
However, the practice of selling meatballs contaminated with traces of horse DNA pales in comparison to the news that roughly two tonnes of chocolate cakes marketed by Ikea were found to contain so-called coliform bacteria.
These cakes allegedly arrived in China back in January 2013, but it is just now that the news of their containing coliform bacteria is shared with the public.
For those unaware, these particular bacteria are most commonly found in the feces of warm-blooded animals, hence the outrage caused by their being found in Ikea's almond chocolate cakes.
The Local reports that these not-so-appealing deserts were imported from Sweden, and that the company intended to sell them in China.
However, said country's health authorities saw fit to confiscate the cakes and later on destroy them, their goal being that of keeping the public from buying and consuming them.
Information made available to the general public says that, all in all, Chinese health authorities were left with no choice except to get rid of 1.87 tonnes of such almond chocolate cakes, all of which could have been contaminated with the coliform bacteria.
The same source informs us that, while speaking to members of the press, a spokesperson for Ikea wished to stress the fact that the company is now busy trying to collect more information concerning this incident, seeing how customer safety and satisfaction are their top priorities.
“We buy chocolate from one supplier. That it's of high quality, that checks are carried out in all warehouses, and that rules are followed are obviously all important questions,” the spokesperson stated.
Furthermore, “It's important that products that might contain bacteria don't make it to customers,” she said. The safety of our products is our highest priority.”
A total of 246 other products failed to meet the standards set in place by Chinese sanitation inspections.