Walmart has been investigated by the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau recently for selling imported beer from Lithuania of which the production date has been tampered with for the Chinese market. Walmart China issued a statement on May 20 stating that according to preliminary investigation results, the alteration of the production date occurred in the production process. At present, the products involved and other products of the supplier have all been taken off the shelves, and the cooperation with the supplier has ceased.
On May 6, the Shenzhen Municipal Market Supervision Administration received a letter from the consumer, Mr. Qiu, stating that he had purchased 4-can packages of Lithuanian Kanapyli Select Beer from various branches of Walmart (China) Investment Co., Ltd., with a unit price of 19.8 yuan. The production date of the product is October 5, 2020, and the shelf life is until October 5, 2021. He discovered that the old date was erased from the bottom of the same imported beer and the new date was printed. He suspected that the expired products continue to be sold, and then he reported it to the relevant department.
The Shenzhen Market Supervision Bureau stated that on May 7 it notified the whistleblower to submit the evidence for the report, and at the same time notified Walmart (China) Investment Co., Ltd. to submit the evidence for the purchase of the reported batch of beer. After the Shenzhen Market Supervision Bureau verified the evidence of the physical objects, videos and related purchase bills, it confirmed that the situation reflected was true.
It is understood that Walmart (China) Investment Co., Ltd. has submitted on May 11 the customs declaration form, inspection and quarantine certificate and other import materials for the 4-can packages of Lithuania’s Kanapyli Select Beer (production date October 5, 2020). On the same day, Walmart (China) Investment Co., Ltd. issued a notice to stores nationwide requesting the removal of 4-can packages of Lithuanian Kanapyli Select Beer, and required all stores to check and verify the quantity of the batch of beers whose production date was changed. On May 14, Walmart (China) Investment Co., Ltd. required its affiliated stores to recall the reported batch of beer.
Relevant law enforcement officers of the Shenzhen Market Supervision Bureau stated that based on the investigation results, the bureau has initiated an investigation into Walmart (China) Investment Co., Ltd. The case is currently undergoing evidence collection, and specific penalties will be imposed on the company in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and they will continue to inform the media.
Regarding the double-date issue of beer that has occurred, Walmart issued a statement of deep apology on May 20. At present, all products of the supplier have been removed from the shelves, and the cooperation with the supplier has also ceased. The recall of the problematic products has been launched in stores across China.
In an interview with a Chinese reporter, Walmart China said that the supplier has been cooperating with Walmart since 2017 and that there have been no similar problems before. For each batch of imported products, Walmart China will conduct random inspections during the receiving process, but since the proportion of products involving dual dates is relatively low, no such problem was found in the receiving process. At that time, a total of 6,048 boxes were received, and 302 boxes were opened for inspection. No double date problem was found. The store will check the shelf life of the goods on sale on a daily basis.
“The product was imported from Lithuania, and the whole process of production and packaging was completed in Lithuania. According to our preliminary investigation results, the alteration of the production date occurred in the production process. According to the supplier’s explanation, the date inkjet printer was used in the production process. Wrong settings have caused the wrong date to be printed on individual products (that is, the date of the previous production batch is stored in the printer, and the operator manually activates the originally stored date as the date of new production batch during the operation). For products with the wrong date printed, the supplier smeared and printed the correct production date. We are still verifying the supplier’s explanation.” The person in charge said.
As for the number of products involved in this matter, Walmart China revealed that the supplier did not respond to this. “The other party did not specify how many products have been altered with the production date, but according to our incomplete statistics, the proportion of products with dual dates is not High, about less than 1%. Of course, the exact figure is still under further verification.”
In today’s statement issued by Walmart China, it once again apologized for the dual-date issue. “Legal compliance is our operating principle in China, and Walmart adopts a zero-tolerance attitude towards violations of laws and regulations. We will further strengthen supplier management to better guarantee the rights and interests of Chinese consumers.”
Source: Beijing Toutiao Client