Ikea's Meatball Mess Spreads to 24 Countries

Ikea's horse-meatball mess continues to grow. The retailer has now stopped offering meatballs in 24 European countries, der Spiegel reports. The company explained in a statement that, "The sales stop concerns meatballs manufactured by one supplier in Sweden and applies to all European countries except for Norway, Russia, and a limited number of products in Switzerland and Poland." But is something nefarious afoot? That supplier today announced that 320 tests carried out this month haven't turned up any horse meat. "We've been duped, there is a criminal act behind this," said the head of the company, reports the Local.

Meanwhile, as Britain frets over horse meat, burger sales have taken a serious slide: Frozen beef burger sales dropped 43% in the country in the four weeks ending Feb. 17, Sky News reports, while sales of frozen meals sank 13%. The figures come from the first retail report following the scandal. The drop is the result of both consumers' beef avoidance and retailers' removal of products. (More burger stories.)