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LONDON — The escalating crisis over horse meat in beef products in Europe claimed another big retail victim Monday when the Swedish furniture giant, Ikea, withdrew meatballs from sale in 14 European countries.

The retailer said it had removed some products from its stores in Sweden after the authorities in the Czech Republic detected horse meat in Ikea meatballs. The company said it had made the decision even though its own tests two weeks ago had not detected horse DNA.

Ikea also announced that it was stopping sales "of the concerned batch" of meatballs in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, France, Britain, Portugal, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Cyprus and Ireland.

"We are now initiating further tests on the same production batch in which the Czech Republic authorities found indications of horse meat," Ikea added in a statement. It said results were expected in the coming days.

"We do not tolerate any other ingredients than the ones stipulated in our recipes or specifications, secured through set standards, certifications and product analysis by accredited laboratories," the statement said.

A traditional part of Swedish cuisine, meatballs are consumed in large quantities by customers in Ikea's in-store cafeterias, and are also offered, frozen, for sale in Ikea's in-store food shops for customers to take home.

The discovery came as European Union ministers were meeting in Brussels to discuss how to contain a crisis that began last month in Ireland, spread quickly to Britain, and has now expanded steadily across the Continent.

Around a dozen countries have now been affected, and the scandal has drawn attention to the problems of policing a complex supply chain for processed food in Europe.

The European Union introduced strict traceability laws for fresh beef after the outbreak of mad cow disease in the 1990's. Similar controls are not in place for processed meat products.

While pressure for stricter rules is growing, some European nations worry that this could produce an unwieldy and impractical system.

In the meantime, European nations have stepped up DNA tests of meat products to determine their provenance, and these are producing more unwelcome discoveries every week.

Last week Nestlé, one of the best-known food companies in the world, said it was removing pasta meals from store shelves in Italy and Spain. Already most of the big supermarket chains in Britain have withdrawn products, including millions of hamburgers.

Last week, local authorities in Scotland were urged by a procurement agency not to use current stocks of frozen beef products, following the discovery of traces of horse DNA in a frozen burger taken from a Scottish school kitchen.