Wal-Mart Stores Inc. intends to focus on food safety in China, in an effort to revive its popularity and to boost the profitability of its 400-plus stores in the country.
"We play an important role in China delivering food safety and quality products to our customers," Reuters quoted Scott Price, Wal-Mart Asia chief executive.
Price was speaking on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, occurring from Nov. 8 to 10.
The Chinese authorities, in a span of three years, have levied a fine of nearly $9.8 million on Wal-Mart Stores for selling poor-quality products and even misleading pricing.
Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, received a lot of flak in Jan. 2011 when a donkey meat product was found to contain fox meat. They had to even shut down the stores in Chongqing. Soon, they were accused of selling expired duck meat and non-organic pork at a higher price by labeling it as organic.
In order to combat the harsh criticism, Wal-Mart said it would start testing the DNA of its products. The company has also devised strategies to improve safety on food.
The food testers at Wal-Mart distribution centers in China inspect more than 600 products daily to ensure that the best are sent out to the various stores in the country, according to Wall Street Journal.
In Oct. 2013, Wal-Mart said that it plans to open up to 110 new outlets in the country between 2014 and 2016.
The company, in June this year, had also announced that it would invest 300 million yuan ($49 million) for three years beginning 2013 on food safety measures in China. The investment was a substantial increase from a previously announced 100 million yuan.
"The 'fresh' experience is an area where we can differentiate. We are the only retailer in China that has 100 percent of our 'fresh' going through distribution centers," said Price, adding that China plays a huge part in Wal-Mart's future expansion plan.
Meanwhile, Wal-Mart also blames the rules in China that hold the retailers responsible for the quality of the products sold.
In the U.S. and other countries, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers to ensure that the products that go in the market are of supreme quality.
Christian Murck, former president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, agree with the authorities at Wal-Mart.
"When the Chinese government wants to make a point on food safety, they go after a multinational rather than a Chinese company," said Murck.
However, many say that the focus is on foreign countries mainly because they have a bigger name and huge operations, which helps in setting an example.