Wal-Mart recalls donkey meat in China, says meat contains DNA of fox

Wal-Mart has recalled donkey meat in its Chinese outlets, saying that the meat had contained traces of other animals. The Shandong Food and Drug Administration detected fox in the meat.

Reuters says that Wal-Mart will reimburse customers who bought the “Five-Spice” donkey meat sold in several outlets in China.

“This is another hit on Wal-Mart’s brand, meaning wealthy shoppers will start to lose the trust they had before,” said Shaun Rein, the managing director of China Market Research (CMR) Group in Shanghai.

According to Reuters, donkey meat is a popular snack in China. In 2011 alone, Chinese butchers killed over 2.4 million donkeys.

Reuters says that this recall may create a dent in Wal-Mart’s profits. Already the company’s shares have dropped from 7.5 percent to 5.2 percent over the last three years.

“We are deeply sorry for this whole affair,” said Wal-Mart’s China president and CEO, Greg Foran. “It is a deep lesson (for us) that we need to continue to increase investment in supplier management.”

Time says that Wal-Mart’s current number of 400 stores will proceed as usual. In the next few years, Wal-Mart plans to open 110 new stores.