The Chinese branch of Wal-Mart super stores has issued a recall of donkey meat products after it was found to be contaminated with other animal products.
According to CNN, Walmart announced Wednesday that it was recalling the meat in Jinan, which is the provincial capital of Shandong and is apologizing to their customers and will provide a refund to customers who bought the tainted "Five Spice" donkey meat.
The Shandong Food and Drug Administration stated that the company has agreed to help local food industries investigate Chinese supplier, Dezhou Fujude Food Company Limited. The investigation reportedly has plans to strengthen food safety rules and take action against the supplier.
The company stated that their supplier also produced and provided other distributors with donkey meat containing fox DNA. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has removed the products from their shelves.
The company announced on China's Twitter-like service, Weibo, that they have "zero-tolerance" for contamination issues and added that the individual in charge at the factory has been detained.
"We are deeply sorry for this whole affair," Wal-Mart's China president and CEO, Greg Foran, said. "It is a deep lesson (for us) that we need to continue to increase investment in supplier management."
According to the Institute of Grocery Distribution, China is the largest grocery market in the world and is expected to grow to $1.5 trillion by 2016. The company's shares have fallen from 7.5 percent to 5.2 percent over the last three years.
"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 Group.
According to country's livestock industry yearbook, donkey meat, which is a popular snack in some areas of China, accounts for a small part of overall consumption. In 2011 China slaughtered 2.4 million donkeys.
Wal-Mart has more than 400 stores in China.
