US retail giant Wal-Mart has announced plans to implement new beef safety measure at its name-sake US stores as well as those of its club store subsidiary Sam’s Club.
The measures, designed to protect customers against foodborne illnesses, will require Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club beef suppliers to implement controls that will “significantly” reduce potential contamination levels and validate those measures through testing.
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“In light of recent beef recalls, we determined it was prudent to require an additional layer of protection for our customers,” said vice president for food safety Frank Yiannas.
“At Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, our commitment to providing our customers with safe, quality foods is unparalleled,” he added.
The new process controls are additions to a food safety programme that already requires ground beef suppliers to test for E.coli O 157:H7 and achieve prevention-based certification against one of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) internationally recognised standards.
Suppliers who do not operate slaughter houses must be in compliance with the new standard by June 2011, Wal-Mart said.
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By GlobalDataFor beef slaughterhouse suppliers, there is a two-step approach with the first step to be completed by June 2011 and the second by June 2012.
Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club said it will work closely with beef suppliers to ensure that the new requirement is implemented without additional cost to customers.
