IKEA Scare Focuses Attention on Need for Better Food Safety Diagnostics

The recent discovery that some of retailer IKEA's trademark meatballs in its European stores contained equine DNA will focus attention on the need for better controls for the food supply for some highly dangerous threats, according to Kalorama Information. The healthcare market research publisher said the recent coverage of several contamination and impurity incidents in food will drive sales of food safety diagnostics technologies. Kalorama covered the market for food safety testing products in its recently published report, "Food Safety Diagnostics."

"It's a rough story for a fantastic retailer but it highlights the damage that a food safety scare can do to a company," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "This is an international retailer that used food only as a marketing item and can rely on positive PR of the quality and price of furniture products to survive. For a food company, this might have marked the end of business."

For its part, IKEA has stopped sales of Swedish meatballs from its 18 UK sites and stopped sales from the same run in 12 other European countries after Czech inspectors found equine DNA in a consignment last week. IKEA is a furniture retailer but sells the meatballs in its novelty cafeterias in its huge box stores. The checks were carried out in response to a Europe-wide scandal that erupted last month when tests carried out in Ireland revealed some beef products contained horsemeat. Kalorama noted that in the largest market, the United States IKEA says its meatballs are sourced from an American supplier and contain only beef and pork, which should limit some of the damage in the world's largest market. However, Kalorama sees that the problem is not only with authenticity of food but quality of food even when it is authentic.

"The larger danger is not so much horsemeat but beef, chicken or even vegetables that may contain a toxin, and do physical damage to a person," said Bruce Carlson, Publisher of Kalorama Information. "IVD companies who design medical tests now are the experts at developing testing products, and I would expect more of them getting involved."

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