Food fraud prevention on WMT menu in China
Walmart is sponsoring the translation of an industry leading food fraud prevention course into Mandarin as part of a larger effort designed to position the retailer as a leader in product quality, authenticity and safety.
The course in question was developed by Dr. John Spink, professor at Michigan State University (MSU) and director of the University's Food Fraud Initiative. MSU's first Food Fraud Prevention Overview was originally conducted in May of2013 and it has only been offered in English. Since its debut, the massive openonline course (MOOC) has seen more than 800 participants from 48 countries take the free course.
“Because prevention of food fraud is a shared responsibility and education is a key to deterrence, Walmart is delighted to be able to help Michigan State University make the course more broadly available to regulatory officials, industry professionals, consumers and other stakeholders in China,” said Walmart vp of food safety Frank Yiannas.
The two-week course is free to anyone, anywhere, who has Internet access. The first Mandarin version of the two-week course will be offered in two sections, on August 5 and August 12. It is designed to be used as a tool to help food companies in China further strengthen their food fraud prevention and surveillance programs. Participants in the course are expected to gain important insights into the reasons food fraud remains a major issue in the global supply chain. The course will draw on a wide range of current experience and expertise, infusing many real-world applications and problem-solving exercises that will provide a framework for success in the future.
"Food fraud has been recognized as a common challenge not only for retailersbut also the whole supply chain," said Walmart China chief compliance officer Paul Gallemore. "As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart intends to
leverage global food safety expertise and best practices to help our suppliersaddress the problem together in order to provide even greater assurance of foodproduct quality, authenticity and safety to our customers."