Ikea: Affected meatballs were also on sale in Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal.VIDEO: Swedish minister shock at horsemeat in Ikea meatballs find

Announcement: The horse meat was found in one-kilogram packs of frozen meat balls made in Sweden and shipped to the Czech Republic for sale in Ikea stores there
IKEA says there is no horse meat in the Swedish meatballs sold in its American stores, after more than 1,600 pounds of the meatballs were pulled from shelves because they were tainted.
The Swedish furniture manufacturer says the meatballs sold at its stores in the United States contain only beef and pork from American suppliers - and are unaffected by the horse meat scandal that has rocked Britain and much of Europe.
The horse meat was found in one-kilogram packs of frozen meat balls made in Sweden and shipped to the Czech Republic for sale in IKEA stores there, the State Veterinary Administration said.
Meatballs were also pulled from shelves at IKEA stores in Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium.
'We can confirm that the contents of the meatballs follow the IKEA recipe and contain only beef and pork from animals raised in the U.S. and Canada,' spokeswoman Mona Liss told NBC News.
'All beef and pork from the U.S. and Canada must comply with USDA guidelines.'

A total of 1,675 pounds of the meat balls were stopped from reaching the shelves of IKEA Group, the world’s biggest furniture retailer.
Ikea's stores feature restaurants and also sell typical Swedish food, including the so-called Kottbullar meat balls.
Ikea estimates it has sold 11.6 billion Swedish meatballs and 1.2 billion hotdogs to its British customers since it opened in the UK in 1987.
'We stopped selling in Italy meatballs from this Swedish producer,' a spokesman said.
'Our meatballs must be made of beef and pork. We will carry out checks on possible DNA presence (of horsemeat).'
More than a dozen nations have detected horse flesh in processed products such as factory-made burger patties, lasagnas, meat pies and meat-filled pastas.
Last week, the Czechs detected horse meat for the first time, in lasagne Bolognese - made by scandal-plagued frozen food processor Tavola S. A. Comigel and sold at Tesco.
Authorities across Europe have started doing random DNA checks after traces of horse meat turned up in frozen supermarket meals such as burgers and lasagna beginning last month.
The European Union's agriculture ministers gathered in Brussels today to discuss the widening scandal's fallout, with some member states pressing for tougher rules to regain consumer confidence.
The 27-nation bloc must agree on binding origin disclosures for food product ingredients, starting with a better labelling of meat products, German agriculture minister Ilse Aigner said.
'Consumers have every right to the greatest-possible transparency,' she insisted.
Austria backs the German initiative; but others like Ireland say existing rules are sufficient although Europe-wide controls must be strengthened to address the problem of fraudulent labeling.
It tested frozen beef burgers taken from store shelves and found that more than a third of brands at five supermarkets contained at least a trace of horse.
The sample of one brand sold by Tesco was more than a quarter horse.
Such discoveries have spread like wildfire across Europe as governments, supermarkets, meat traders and processors began their own DNA testing of products labeled beef and have been forced to withdraw tens of millions of products from store shelves.
The investigations have been complicated by elaborate supply chains involving multiple cross-border middlemen.

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• NBC News: No horse in IKEA meatballs in the US, store says

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HORSEMEAT SCANDAL: BIG NAMES TO BE HIT SO FAR THIS YEAR

Nestle - the world’s biggest food company - announces it is removing beef ready meals from sale in Italy and Spain after its own tests found more than one per cent horsemeat DNA in its beef ravioli and tortellini.
Birds Eye removes three beef ready meals from sale in the UK and Ireland after one of its products being sold in Belgium tested positive for horse DNA
Pub giant Whitebread - which owns Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Taybarns and Premier Inn - confirms it has found horsemeat in its products.

Tesco reveals its Everyday value spaghetti bolognese contained up to 100 per cent horsemeat.
Revealed that packs of Findus frozen lasagne meals being sold around the UK contained up to 100 per cent horse meat.
The lasagne packs were manufactured by French company, Comigel, at a plant in Metz, which produces food for supermarkets in Britain and Europe.
Comigel makes a range of beef products for Tesco and Aldi. Both stores begin removing those products as a ‘precautionary measure’.
Asda removes four own-label brands of frozen burgers from sale following the discovery of beef contaminated with horse meat at a manufacturer in Northern Ireland.
Burger King admits to selling burgers contaminated with horsemeat.
Emerges that Asda and Co-op have also been selling burgers contaminated with horsemeat.
Hotel chain Premier Inn removes beef burgers supplied by the company from its restaurants.
It has also revealed schools and hospitals have been serving beef contaminated with horsemeat.