IKEA stops selling veg biryani at Hyderabad store after shopper finds worm

IKEA India said on Wednesday that it has stopped serving two of the local food items at its restaurant in the recently opened home-furnishing store in the city. The move comes after a customer last week noticed a worm in the dish he ordered. 

"IKEA India has voluntarily stopped sales of two of its most appreciated products-Vegetarian Biryani and Samosa, sourced locally in India. IKEA follows strong internal processes to secure quality and takes full responsibility for its supply chain. IKEA India has initiated an internal review in order to take any corrective actions as needed," the company stated.

The 1000-seater restaurant at IKEA's first India store became an instant-hit among people going there for shopping with a large variety of tasty Swedish and Indian dishes being sold at affordable prices by the store management. Much to the embarrassment of the company, the complaint regarding a cooked worm in vegetable biryani became a hot topic in the local media followed by a notice served on the store management by local authorities.

Opened less than a month ago on August 9, the 400,000 square-foot IKEA home-furnishing store received a huge public response as hundreds of visitors waited in queues for hours together to get into the store. On an average, around 20,000 people visit the store every day.