IKEA recalls a cereal product in China because of the excessive number of bacteria

On the afternoon of May 8th, 2020, the official Weibo account of IKEA (China) said it would recall a kind of mixed dried fruit cereal called MUSLI, as the result of the mycotic contamination of products.

In the announcement, IKEA called on customers who bought this product in or after March 2019, returning it to any IKEA store based on their spending records as soon as possible to get full refund. The recall began on May 8 and would last for one month.

According to media reports, the earliest sale date of the prodcut was March 2019, and IKEA staff had learnt the issue on April 30, 2020. IKEA removed the product from shelves on the same day.

The Shenzhen Municipal Market Regulatory Administration submitted a quality inspection report to Ikea’s food import suppliers in China, which indicated that the amount of mold containing in the product did not fit the health standard of China.

An IKEA (China) staff member said in an interview:

Despite there is no report of discomfort or health issue caused by the use of this product, as a precaution, Ikea still immediately stopped selling the product in all IKEA stores in China. The supplier was also informed in order to initiate the internal investigation.

IKEA (China) did not mention any compensation measures yet, however, according to China’s Food Safety Law, if food hygiene issues harm consumers, enterprises may compensate consumers for 3 to 10 times the price of the product, and no less than 1000 yuan.