Expired milk powder still being sold, Sam's Club fined.
Compiled from The Paper
Case review
According to a notice from the Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Administration, Beijing Walmart Sam's Club Store Co., Ltd. was recently fined 65,000 yuan by the Beijing Shunyi District Market Supervision Administration for violating the Food Safety Law.
It is reported that Walmart (China) Investment Co., Ltd. delivered "a2 Children's Formula Milk Powder" to the party multiple times from November 2020 to January 2021, and the party sold all of it at its business premises. A whistleblower purchased one box (each box containing two cans) of "a2 Children's Formula Milk Powder" at a near-expiration price on November 19, 2021, which was confirmed by Beijing Walmart Sam's Club Store Co., Ltd. to have been sold by the unit and to have exceeded its shelf life.
[5] Food Safety Law
Article 34
The following foods, food additives, and food-related products are prohibited from production and operation:
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(10) Labeling false production dates, shelf lives, or food and food additives that have exceeded their shelf lives;
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Article 124
If any of the following circumstances occur in violation of this law, and the act does not constitute a crime, the food and drug supervision and management department of the people's government at or above the county level shall confiscate the illegal income and the illegally produced or operated food and food additives, and may also confiscate tools, equipment, raw materials, and other items used for illegal production or operation; if the value of the illegally produced or operated food and food additives is less than 10,000 yuan, a fine of not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed; if the value is 10,000 yuan or more, a fine of not less than ten times but not more than twenty times the value shall be imposed; if the circumstances are serious, the license shall be revoked.
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(5) Producing and operating food or food additives with falsely labeled production dates, shelf life, or those that have exceeded their shelf life;
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[1] The author's perspective
Sam's Club, as a large and well-known membership supermarket, must pay attention to the quality of its products and services while continuing to expand, especially in food safety. In recent years, many merchants have been driven by greed, leading to endless problems such as gutter oil and water-injected meat, which not only severely disrupt market balance but also endanger public health and safety.
This time, Sam's Club had a problem with infant formula. At its root, it still lacks reverence for life. Labeled as near-expiry but actually expired—whether it's one month or longer, selling expired food is illegal in nature. Moreover, infants have more delicate bodies and require higher food hygiene standards for what they consume. Fortunately, this incident did not cause serious consequences; otherwise, it would have been an irreparable loss for this small family.
