Food-Safety Complaints Hit Wal-Mart China

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are in hot water in China after allegations of food-safety violations have surfaced. Wal-Mart's food safety is dominating international news after incidences in Beijing and Chongqing were reported this week.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Beijing's Food Safety Administration's accusation that Wal-Mart was selling products that exceeded safe levels of chemicals for human consumption in Beijing. In a separate story, The Financial Times reported Wal-Mart was selling pork from "diseased pigs" in Chongqing.

Food-safety concerns stem from the Beijing store's sale of sesame oil that exceeded the standard amount of benxopyrene and squid containing hazardous levels of cadmium. In a separate instance in Chongqing, The Animal Husbandry and Foodstuff Bureau in Danzhou requested that Wal-Mart remove certain pork products from their shelves after suggesting that they came from "diseased pigs."

The potentially hazardous food was removed from Wal-Mart shelves in both cities and the sale of the pork at the Wal-Mart in Chongqing has been discontinued. The CEO of Wal-Mart in China stepped down last October when the retail giant was accused of labeling conventional pork as organic.