Neigh It Ain't So: No Horse Meat in IKEA's U.S. Meatballs, Officials Say

IKEA's Swedish meatball fans can eat a bit easier in the U.S. after company representatives said the popular dish sold and served in North American stores contains no horsemeat.

The Sweden-based furniture giant -- with a destination store in Renton -- was linked to a processed meat scandal in Europe where horsemeat has been found in processed hamburger across the continent.

According to a New York Times report, the scandal forced IKEA to withdraw meatballs from food service in 14 countries. The IKEA meatballs, along with some other processed meats, were found to have horse DNA.

That is not the case in the U.S. and Canada, officials told NBC News today.

"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,” Mona Liss, a company spokeswoman, told NBC News.

“All beef and pork from the U.S. and Canada must comply with USDA guidelines.”