Society

Wal-Mart apologizes for sales of expired food

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-12 15:42

CHONGQING - Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has apologized for selling expired duck meat in a store in Southwest China's Chongqing municipality.

The Yangjiaping store in Jiulongpo district was caught by a local market regulator selling smoked tea ducks using duck meat that had passed the expiry dates.

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The Chongqing Administration for Industry and Commerce received a complaint from a consumer on Feb 28, which said the Yangjiaping Wal-Mart store sold expired ducks after frying them.

In a statement to the municipal consumer's association, Wal-Mart said it will compensate the ducks' buyers 10 times of the bills they paid between Feb 5 and 28.

The retailer also asked all stores to check inspection, storage, production and sales processes to ensure food safety and promised to severely punish some management and staff for dereliction of duty.

Meanwhile, it offered an apology to the consumers and vowed to avoid similar incidents.

Wal-Mart and Carrefour, another retailing giant, had earlier been found over-stating discounts by inflating pre-discounted prices or charging prices higher than what was labeled or advertised in several Chinese cities.