STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Swedish furniture giant Ikea has withdrawn some of its company-branded meatballs in 14 European countries after horsemeat was found in the product by Czech authorities, the company said on Monday.

"We take this very seriously and have withdrawn one-kilo bags of frozen meatballs from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Britain, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Cyprus, Greece and Ireland," in addition to Sweden, said company spokeswoman Ylva Magnusson.