BEIJING — Wal-Mart said Wed nesday it will set new quality standards for its suppliers after a series of scandals involving Chinese-made products, which account for a major portion of the company’s sales.
Meanwhile, the United Nations recommended China increase oversight of its food- safety system and hold businesses accountable for their products. The recommendation comes amid the latest scandal involving tainted milk products that have killed several babies and sickened tens of thousands across China.
Mike Duke, vice chairman of Wal-Mart’s international division, said the company has been working on the initiative for three years but that recent scandals over the quality of Chinese-made products have made transparency in the supply chain “even more important.”
“We have to ask all our suppliers to take full responsibility,” Duke told The Associated Press. “Not . . . just the factories or final production but to go all the way upstream to look at any products, any raw materials that go in the products.”
While Duke said the new standards applied to all products, confidence in Chinese products has been sagging after high levels of industrial toxins were found last year in exports ranging from toothpaste to toys.
In 2007, melamine was found in a Chinese-made pet food ingredient and blamed in the deaths of dozens of dogs and cats in North America.
