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 The moves by Sun Art Retail Group, China's biggest hypermarket
chain, and the Chinese arms of global retail giants Wal-Mart Stores
Inc and Metro AG come days after China temporarily suspended
Brazilian meat imports.
Safety fears over Brazilian meat have grown since police accused
inspectors in the world's biggest exporter of beef and poultry of
taking bribes to allow sales of rotten and salmonella-tainted meats.
A spokeswoman for Sun Art Retail, which operates 400 Chinese
hypermarkets, said on Wednesday the chain had removed beef supplied
by top Brazilian exporters BRF SA <BRFS3.SA> and JBS SA <JBSS3.SA>
from its shelves from Monday. Brazilian beef accounts for less than
10 percent of Sun Art's beef supply, she said.
Wal-Mart has also removed Brazilian meat products from its stores,
said a person familiar with the matter. He declined to be quoted
because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Germany's Metro has withdrawn Brazilian chicken legs and wings from
its Chinese stores, said a manager, who declined to be named as he
was not allowed to speak to media. The retailer, with 84 stores in
China, does not sell Brazilian beef.
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While Brazilian officials sought late on Tuesday to reassure
consumers that the investigation had revealed only isolated
incidents of sanitary problems, the reaction by Chinese retailers
suggests that the probe could have far-reaching repercussions for
the world's top meat exporter.
Hong Kong, the second-biggest buyer of Brazilian meat last year, has
also issued a ban on imports, following similar steps by Japan,
Canada, Mexico and Switzerland.
(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom and Dominique Patton; Editing by
Kenneth Maxwell)
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