The Guardian said that Ikea’s Swedish meatballs are the subject of a bureaucratic tug-of-war in India that could hit local consumers’ hopes of sampling the joys of flatpacked furniture in the near future.

The retailer plans to invest about £1.25bn in India. However, last month officials in India told Ikea it was only allowed to sell furniture products, and that selling food and drink would infringe on regulations, the newspaper said.

It’s popular meatballs are gulped down in their thousands each weekend in store cafes around the world.