UPDATE: New food scare for Ikea

CONSUMER safety officials are taking samples from Ikea foods after the Swedish giant revealed two consignments of chocolate and caramel cake on sale in its stores had been contaminated with faecal bacteria.

The discovery was made after 1,800 contaminated “Almond Cake with chocolate and butterscotch” were found by Chinese health officials. It is the second food safety scare to hit Ikea as it last month withdrew Swedish meatballs from its menus, saying that they contained traces of horsemeat.

Officials from the consumer safety agency DGCCRF say they are investigating the contamination but believe 6,000 of the cakes have already been sold in France.

Ikea in France says that none of the cakes is now on sale in its stores.

The DGCCRF said that the coliform bacteria found were indicative of poor hygiene but said that no potentially-fatal pathogenic bacteria, such as E-coli, had been found.