After initially denying claims by a customer that the donkey meat he bought was actually fox meat, Wal-mart released a statement over the weekend apologizing for the mix up.

According to reports, a customer by the name Wang recently purchased 1,600 packages of what he thought was donkey meat from a Wal-mart store in Jinan. Wang felt the meat looked and tasted funny so he decided to have it tested. The tests revealed that the meat was indeed not donkey but rather fox meat. When Wang sought compensation from Wal-mart, the store initially refused, claiming that Wang’s large purchase and sudden demand for compensation was very suspicious and likely an attempt by Wang to extort money from the store.

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Yesterday, however, store representatives issued an apology and a statement saying that the particular brand of meat was not on sale in any Beijing markets. The statement also said that the only meat suspected of having problems was in the Jinan store and that all remaining packages of the meat had been removed from the Jinan store shelves and sent for testing. Wal-mart also announced that all further cooperation, with the meat supplier, has been suspended. According to Wal-mart, it reviews the certificates of each of its suppliers but cannot independently examine every product in its stores.

It is believed that the supplier of the meat is the Dezhou Fu Jude Food Company. The company is now under investigation to determine whether it had adulterated the meat in any way. According to fox farmers, fox meat is cheap due to its odor but with some processing that odor can be eliminated. If the meat was found to be adulterated, Dezhou faces harsh penalties.