沃尔玛在中国再爆食品安全问题

Walmartis facing fresh accusations of selling substandard products in China just months after a scandal over mislabelling cost its country head his job and damaged the chain's reputation in a market where food safety is a major concern.

沃尔玛(Walmart)正面临在中国销售劣质产品的新指控，就在几个月前，围绕假冒绿色猪肉的一场丑闻，导致该公司在华业务负责人下台，并在人们极为关心食品安全的中国市场损害了这家连锁超市的声誉。

The animal husbandry and foodstuff bureau of Dazhou city, a city of nearly 7m people near Chongqing, said it had asked Walmart's local branch in January to stop selling pork ribs sourced from diseased pigs.

拥有近700万人口的四川省达州市靠近重庆。达州市畜牧食品局表示，曾在1月份要求达州沃尔玛停止销售病害猪排骨。

An official from the bureau said yesterday the news was only made public now because it had been asked by the government to provide the media with "classic case studies" this week food safety week.

该局一名官员昨日表示，现在才公布这一消息，是因为政府要求该局在本周（食品安全周）向媒体提供一些经典案例。

A separate report published by state media on the same day said that a branch of Walmart in Beijing was found to be selling sesame oil with carcinogenic ingredients, and fresh squid with too much heavy metal. Local state media reports said Walmart had withdrawn all the products.

同日，中国官方媒体的另一篇报道称，沃尔玛在北京的一家门店被发现销售含有致癌成分的小磨香油以及重金属超标的鲜鱿鱼。据当地官方媒体报道，沃尔玛已下架所有不合格产品。

Walmart released a statement yesterday on the incident in Dazhou, but not on recalls in Beijing. "The [pork] product was immediately removed from our shelves in that store and we have discontinued supply of that product," the company said. "Since January, we continue to be in close contact with the Dazhou government on such matters."

沃尔玛昨日发布了一份有关达州事件的声明，但没有对北京的产品下架表态。该公司表示，相关（猪肉）产品立即从那家门店的货架上被撤下，该店已停止供应该种产品。同时自1月以来，沃尔玛方面与达州市政府在相关问题上保持密切联系。

The latest incidents could prove a blow to Walmart's efforts to improve its performance in China, where it has 370 stores. In the last quarter, China was the only country where Walmart's sales lagged behind the overall market. Comparable store sales only grew 1.2 per cent from a year ago.

最新曝光的这些事件，可能打击沃尔玛改善在华业务表现的努力。沃尔玛在中国拥有370家门店。在上一个季度的沃尔玛总体销售中，中国是唯一落后于整体的市场。可比门店销售额同比仅增长1.2%。

Part of the reason was the perception that it had failed to provide sufficient safeguards over its local supply chain, said Shaun Rein, a China retail consultant.

中国零售业咨询顾问雷小山(Shaun Rein)表示，部分原因在于这样一种观感，即沃尔玛未能对其当地供应链提供足够保障。

The company has been sanctioned 21 times by the Chongqing government since 2006, during the time when the city was run by the now disgraced Bo Xilai. The worst scandal was the discovery last October that ordinary pork was being sold as more expensive organic pork. That led to the arrests of two store managers in Chongqing and the overhaul of Walmart's China management team.

自2006年以来，该公司遭到重庆市政府21次处罚；在此期间重庆由现已落马的薄熙来执掌。最糟糕的丑闻发生在去年10月，当时沃尔玛在重庆的门店被指将普通猪肉贴上绿色猪肉的标签高价出售。这导致重庆两名门店经理被捕，沃尔玛在中国的管理团队被改组。

The accusations come as Walmart is embroiled in corruption allegations stemming from its Mexico business. Two US senators investigating the allegations, initially made in the New York Times, this week revealed that Walmart's external lawyers told them they were reviewing policies in Mexico, China and Brazil and had recommended evaluations also in India and South Africa.

面对上述指控之际，沃尔玛正因其墨西哥业务卷入腐败指控。《纽约时报》(New York Times)最先曝光这些指控，对指控展开调查的两名美国参议员本周透露，沃尔玛的外部律师对他们表示，他们正在审议沃尔玛在墨西哥、中国和巴西的政策，并已建议也对其在印度和南非的政策进行评估。