Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Ikea is getting a taste of bad publicity

When you go to the grocery store or a restaurant, you have a certain level of expectations for your eating experience. Unfortunately, one company has not lived up to their brand standards.

IKEA is an international furniture company that also has restaurants within their stores. One of the products that is most desired in these restaurants is the Swedish meatballs. These meatballs are said to be made with pork and beef. However, the company has recently been exposed for not following through with their product labeling.

In many news outlets, IKEA has been said to have used horse meat in their meatball recipe in Europe. The traces were found after a recent incident with the large European food company, Nestles. This has caused an increase in monitoring meat production throughout the region. IKEA was one of the most recent reports of using horse meat. Please note, there have been no traces of horse meat in the U.S. IKEA restaurants. (Wall Street Journal)

After this release, the company attempted to conduct damage control with a short press release found here. However, that did not stop the flow of social media disgust. Many people on Twitter shared their thoughts and distaste of the company because of this scandal.


I do not think IKEA has taken the proper risk management to overcome this obstacle. From a food company standpoint, they took the products off of the market. However, they did not reach out to the media sources as well as they could have. I also think this could bring up an interesting discussion about the use of different meat products in food products.


What are your thoughts on this current event? How do you feel IKEA handled or should have handled this situation?

Also, do you think this increased use of horse meat in the United Kingdom will have any effect on the U.S.?
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3 comments:

  1. Jenna EisenbergFebruary 26, 2013 at 8:55 PM

    I agree, that in an event like this, IKEA should be a little more public in their statements and be more candid with their customers. I think that the increased usage of horse meat in the U.K. might eventually spread to the U.S., which is something that all food producers should be cautious of.

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    1. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2013 at 7:55 PM

      Thanks for your input, Jenna. I agree that food producers should continue to be aware of how different countries are altering production methods and how they could affect consumers in the U.S. As an agriculturalist, I have found it is my responsibility to help in raising this awareness.

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  2. Cambell ParrishFebruary 28, 2013 at 9:34 AM

    Both of you are on the right track with the way IKEA should have handled the situation. What do you think the horse meat industry should do to combat this notion of its product being less than desirable? Studies have shown that is actually fairly healthy. If the horse meat industry is going to have any success with their product something has to be done to convince the public that it is safe, healthy, and good tasting.

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