New standards benefit customers

BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) announced today that it will implement additional beef safety measures designed to further protect customers against foodborne illnesses. The new process controls standards and goals are additions to a food safety program that already requires ground beef suppliers to test for E.coli O157:H7 and achieve prevention-based certification against one of the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) internationally recognized standards.

"At Walmart and Sam's Club, our commitment to providing our customers with safe, quality foods is unparalleled," said Vice President for Food Safety Frank Yiannas. "As part of our continuous improvement efforts, we go further than many U.S. retailers in requiring leading-edge food safety standards throughout the entire food production chain."

"In light of recent beef recalls, we determined it was prudent to require an additional layer of protection for our customers," he said.

The new program requires Walmart and Sam's Club beef suppliers to implement controls that would significantly reduce potential contamination levels and validate that the measures they've implemented are effective through specialized testing.

Suppliers who do not operate slaughter houses must be in compliance with the new standard by June 2011.  For 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.

Walmart and Sam's Club will work closely with beef suppliers to ensure that the new requirement is implemented without additional cost to customers.  

The protocol has been reviewed with numerous stakeholders including consumer groups, regulators, academicians, beef suppliers, and industry associations.

Dr. James Marsden of Kansas State University stated, "Walmart has taken steps to provide its customers with the safest possible beef products.  Consumers across the United States will benefit greatly from this timely food safety initiative."

According to Jim Dickson, Iowa State University Professor of Animal Science, "Walmart is taking a progressive approach to assuring the safety of the foods they sell. This is a win for the consumers, the beef industry in general, and Walmart. The lessons learned from Walmart's approach will be applicable to ground beef sold everywhere."

Several consumer groups have also expressed support for the measure.

About Sam's Club

Sam's Club is a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., (NYSE: WMT). The first Sam's Club opened its doors in Midwest City, Okla., in 1983. Today, Sam's Club serves more than 47 million U.S. Members with locations nationwide, as well as in Brazil, China, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Sam's Club saves its Members on average 30.4 percent over grocery and specialty retailers by offering superior values on quality merchandise and services for home or work. Saving is made simple at Sam's Club. Visit samsclub.com for more information.

About Walmart

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), or "Walmart," serves customers and members more than 200 million times per week at more than 8,400 retail units under 55 different banners in 15 countries.  With fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, Walmart employs more than 2.0 million associates worldwide.  A leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity, Walmart ranked first among retailers in Fortune Magazine's 2009 Most Admired Companies survey.  Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting www.walmartstores.com and on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/Walmartnews.  Online merchandise sales are available at www.walmart.com and www.samsclub.com.

SOURCE Walmart

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