Walmart advances food safety through new Beijing initiative

The Walmart Food Safety Collaboration Center, a platform launched by the world's largest retailer Walmart, started a new initiative in Beijing since November aimed at seeking and supporting promising projects that advance food safety in China.

The latest initiative aims to bring together a broad group of stakeholders across the food value chain, and accelerate technological innovation in the sector. In the next five years, Walmart plans to invest $25 million in the center and start new projects, including some long-term ones.

Founded last year, the center has been working to establish itself as an effective collaboration medium and a foundation for supporting projects through the joint efforts of academia, industry and government partners.

"Technological innovation can positively impact the broader food system in ways that previously were considered impossible. Therefore, we launched this initiative to foster collaborative support for innovative late-stage technological solutions, and assist with their implementation," said Yan Zhinong, a food safety expert and executive director of the Walmart Food Safety Collaboration Center (WFSCC).

"The WFSCC is dedicated to developing a platform on which all stakeholders may collaborate. We will focus on supporting practical and impactful solutions through technological innovation, education and policy research to address the most pressing food safety issues throughout the entire food supply chain in China," he said.

The WFSCC innovation pipeline seeks innovative project proposals in six areas. They include cold chain traceability and compliance, product traceability and transparency, economically motivated adulteration management and mitigation, rapid testing technologies, training in good agricultural practices to reduce the use of pesticides and veterinary drugs, and materials and delivery tools for consumer education.

Frank Yiannas, vice-president of food safety at Walmart and a member of the board of experts for the WFSCC, said: "As the world's largest retailer, Walmart has a lot of unique experiences. We are uniquely positioned in promoting food safety in China, and we have the ability to see the best practices and gather together the stakeholders."

"By being fully open to the innovation community in China and other markets, our platform is a way for us to encourage new companies, researchers and entrepreneurs to enter the food safety space, while recognizing those already making strides in this important area," he said.