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IKEA

Bacteria-infected cake sold in Swiss Ikea stores

Ikea’s restaurants in Switzerland sold 720 chocolate almond cakes containing coliform bacteria, contrary to previous declarations by the furniture and furnishings retailer.

Bacteria-infected cake sold in Swiss Ikea stores

The Swiss branch of the multinational chain issued a statement on Monday correcting information released last week that bacteria-infected cakes were not sold at its restaurants in the wake of a scandal in China.

Chinese authorities said on Tuesday that they destroyed almost 1,900 kilograms of the same cake imported by Ikea from Swedish supplier Almondy because of excessive levels of coliform bacteria.

Ikea said the cakes were seized by quarantine officials in China back in November and December 2012 but the company’s Swedish head office only learned about it last week.

“The product was stopped and destroyed,” Associated Press quoted Ikea spokeswoman Yiva Magnusson as saying.

“So none of our cakes made it to our restaurants.”

On March 5th, Ikea nonetheless said it was pulling the cakes from its cafeterias in 23 countries, including Switzerland.

In its latest statement, the company recognized that bacteria-tainted cakes were, in fact, sold in its Swiss restaurants last autumn.

“Additional research subsequently conducted revealed that 720 cakes carrying the the incriminating expiry date, liable to contain bacteria were sold in Swiss restaurants six months ago,” Ikea said.

“We regret that our statement did not mention this information until today.”

The Almondy cakes, cut into 12 pieces, carried an expiry date for 2014.

The company did not explain why the cake contained the coliform bacteria, often found in the feces of warm-blooded animals.

Ikea Switzerland, which operates 10 stores, said the bacteria found in the cakes was not a health danger and that the company had received no complaints from customers.

However, it said it was suspending sales of the cakes with the affected expiry date as a precaution and because the product failed to meet Ikea’s “strict standards with regard to food products”.

The embarrassing revelation comes after the retail giant was forced last month to remove meatballs and wiener sausages from some of its stores (those in Switzerland were not affected) because of concerns about horsemeat being used instead of beef.

Meanwhile, Swiss food giant Nestlé has also been hit by Chinese food inspections.

Inspectors destroyed 2.7 tons of chocolate bars made by the company that contained sorbitol, a sweetener that in large amounts “can cause bowel problems,” the Shanghai Daily reported online last week.

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WEATHER

Danish Ikea store shelters staff and customers overnight during snowstorm

Heavy snowfall left 31 people looking for a spare cushion at the Aalborg branch of Ikea on Wednesday as they were forced to spend the night at the store.

A file photo at Ikea in Aalborg, where 31 people stayed overnight during a snowstorm on December 1st 2021.
A file photo at Ikea in Aalborg, where 31 people stayed overnight during a snowstorm on December 1st 2021. Photo: Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix

Anyone who has found themselves wandering the mazy aisles of an Ikea might be able to empathise with the sense of being lost in the furniture store for a seemingly indefinite time.

Such a feeling was probably more real than usual for six customers and 25 staff members who were forced to spend the night at the furniture giant’s Aalborg branch after being snowed in.

Heavy snow in North Jutland brought traffic to a standstill and halted public transport in parts of the region on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in a snow-in at Ikea.

“This is certainly a new situation for us,” Ikea Aalborg store manager Peter Elmose told local media Nordjyske, which first reported the story.

“It’s certainly not how I thought my day would end when I drove to work this morning,” Elmose added.

The 31 people gathered in the store’s restaurant area and planned to see Christmas television and football to pass the evening, the store’s manager reported to Nordjyske.

“Our kitchen staff have made sure there is hot chocolate, risalamande, pastries, soft drinks, coffee and the odd beer for us in light of the occasion. So we’ll be able to keep warm,” he said.

“We couldn’t just send them outside and lock the door behind them at our 8pm closing time. Absolutely not. So of course they’ll be staying here,” he added.

The temporary guests were given lodging in different departments of the store in view of the Covid-19 situation, Nordjyske writes.

“For us , the most important thing was to take care of each other and that everyone feels safe,” Elmose said.

At least Ikea’s stranded customers and staff had somewhere comfortable to lay their heads.

The same can unlikely be said for around 300 passengers at the city’s airport who had to stay overnight at the terminal.

The airport was forced to stop flights from 2:30pm yesterday amid worsening weather, which also prevented buses from transferring passengers to hotels.

“We have around 300 people in the terminal right now and have been giving out blankets on the assumption they will be staying here tonight,” Aalborg Airport operations manager Kim Bermann told Nordjyske.

READ ALSO: Ikea reopens in Denmark after country’s worst retail month this century

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