IKEA has stopped serving vegetarian biryani and samosas, the only two food products the Swedish company was sourcing locally in India.

The furniture and home accessory giant, with its only store in India in Hyderabad was put in an embarrassing position last week when a customer found a caterpillar in the vegetarian biryani ordered in the restaurant attached to the store.

Following a complaint, the health wing of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation carried out an inspection and fined IKEA Rs 11,500, on August 31. IKEA had given the contract for the biryani to Halidram.

The management has also initiated an internal review in order to take corrective action.

In a statement, IKEA said: “We take the food safety and quality of customers (sic) seriously and customer health is always a priority. Following an incident on 31st August 2018, when a customer encountered a foreign object 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 will resume sales of the two products after it has secured the review process.”