Food safety officials in China reportedly found fox mixed in donkey meat sold at Wal-Mart stores. Tests showed that Five Spice donkey meat sold at a number of Chinese stores contained the DNA of other animals.
The Shandong Food and Drug Administration reportedly found the product contained fox meat.
Donkey meat is a popular snack in some parts of China but accounts for a tiny fraction of overall meat consumption since a lot more of other kinds of meat is consumed in China.
“In 2011 China slaughtered 2.4 million donkeys, according to country’s livestock industry yearbook.” Reuters reported.
The fox-meat scandal could harm Wal-Mart’s reputation in China where it expects to open hundreds of new stores in the next few years.
“China is the largest grocery market in the world and is set to grow to $1.5 trillion by 2016, according to the Institute of Grocery Distribution,” NBC News reported.
“This is another hit on Wal-Mart’s brand, meaning wealthy shoppers will start to lose the trust they had before,” said Shaun Rein, Shanghai-based managing director of China Market Research (CMR) Group.
Wal-Mart reportedly announced reimbursements to customers who bought the tainted Five Spice donkey meat, BBC reported. It also set up and investigation into the incident and is planning to take legal action against the product supplier.
“We are deeply sorry for this whole affair,” said Wal-Mart’s China president and CEO Greg Foran. “It is a deep lesson (for us) that we need to continue to increase investment in supplier management.”
Food safety is a sensitive issue for Chinese consumers. The market is infamous for scams such as the tainted milk scandal that killed six babies and poisoned thousands of others a year ago.
Last year, a scandal that revealed horse meat mixed in beef products shook the confidence of consumers globally.
This is not the first time that the US retailer is in trouble over food safety issues. In 2011, China fined Wal-Mart and Carrefour for manipulating product prices. Reportedly Wal-Mart has the tainted reputation of selling duck meat past its expiry date.
Wal-Mart operates more than 400 facilities in China and competes with market leaders such as Sun Art Retail Group Ltd and China Resources Enterprise Ltd.
Sources linked to within text.