Company Website:
http://www.walmart.com
BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- (Business Wire)
Walmart today announced that it will implement enhanced poultry safety
measures for suppliers designed to further protect customers against
foodborne illnesses. The new guidelines are in addition to Walmart’s
food safety program that requires poultry suppliers to achieve
prevention-based certification against one of the Global Food Safety
Initiative (GFSI) internationally recognized standards.
“At Walmart and Sam’s Club, we are committed to providing our customers
with safe, quality foods,” said vice president for food safety, Frank
Yiannas. “As part of our continuous improvement process, we determined
it was important to require additional layers of protection for our
customers.”
The new program requires Walmart and Sam’s Club U.S. poultry suppliers
to implement holistic controls from farm to fork designed to
significantly reduce potential contamination levels, including chicken
parts. It also requires suppliers to undergo specialized testing to
validate that the measures they have implemented are effective. All
poultry suppliers must be in compliance with the new requirements by
June 2016.
The enhanced protocol has been reviewed with numerous stakeholders
including consumer groups, regulators, academicians, poultry suppliers
and industry associations.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has partnered with
Walmart on this initiative to advance food safety and decrease foodborne
illnesses among consumers.
Dr. Chris Braden, director of CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne,
and Environmental Diseases said, “CDC, along with Walmart, recognizes
that reducing Salmonella and other pathogen contamination in
poultry products is a crucial step towards decreasing the burden of
foodborne illnesses. Walmart and CDC working together to protect public
health and advance food safety is a great example of a public-private
partnership that benefits everyone.”
Dr. Gary R. Acuff, director of the Texas A&M Center for Food Safety
applauded the company’s work: “Walmart’s implementation of enhanced
safety measures for poultry products provides leadership for the food
industry and continues a progressive approach to providing the safest
possible food. This is a smart, science-supported move that will greatly
benefit consumers.”
For more information or to join the conversation please visit news.walmart.com
or @Walmartnewsroom.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save
money and live better – anytime and anywhere -- in retail stores,
online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 245
million customers and members visit our 11,202 stores under 71 banners
in 27 countries and ecommerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year
2014 sales of over $473 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million
associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in
sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity.
Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com
on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart
and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.
Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com
and http://www.samsclub.com.
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Contacts:
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Brooke Buchanan, 800-331-0085
news.walmart.com/reporter
Source: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
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