I'll be honest — when I saw the news about Sam's Club being summoned by regulators, I was stunned. Not because it was unexpected. Because it came later than I thought it would.

On June 15, the State Administration for Market Regulation summoned Walmart China's leadership. The reason: frequent food safety issues at Sam's Club physical stores and online platforms. They demanded strict implementation of主体责任 (primary responsibility) and full-chain risk control.

The official language was serious. But my first reaction wasn't to read the statement — it was to look up what exactly had gone wrong with Sam's Club over the past couple of years.

After going through the records, I was quiet.

First, the live mouse

This was last December. A customer in Shenzhen ordered a box of mochi through Sam's Club's express delivery. Opened it up — and there was a live mouse inside.

You read that right. Alive.

The customer filmed it. The comments exploded. Sam's Club's response: "accidental pest intrusion at the pickup location."

When I read that response, I mentally translated it: "The mouse isn't our problem. A mouse from outside got in on its own."

Okay, so let me ask: from the warehouse to the delivery bag to the customer's hands — not a single checkpoint caught this? How did that mouse quietly ride along inside a mochi box the whole way?

I never forgot about it. But at the time, Sam's wasn't summoned, no product line was recalled, and the matter just faded.

Then, the mislabeled ingredients

In March this year, Sam's Club stores in Shanghai and Shaoxing sold a tea-flavored cookie gift box. The name was elegant enough, but the ingredient list listed almonds instead of the actual almond-like kernels used, and missed pumpkin seeds entirely.

Both are allergens.

For people with allergies, one missing word on the ingredient list can cause real harm. Shanghai regulators opened an investigation, and the product was pulled. But by then, people had already bought and eaten it.

My family buys snacks from Sam's Club occasionally. When I saw this news, I felt uneasy — because I'd always assumed Sam's quality control had standards, stricter than regular supermarkets, justifying that membership fee.

And the formaldehyde exceedance

In December 2024, a Sam's Club in Hangzhou sold a bedsheet. 60-count Lyocell, sounded high-end. But the formaldehyde content didn't meet Class A textile standards, and they were fined 18,300 yuan.

Class A textiles — that's the infant standard. The strictest tier.

You sleep on a bedsheet all night, skin-contact the whole time. Formaldehyde exceedance isn't trivial.

Putting it all together

I'm not saying Sam's Club is all bad. A lot of their products are genuinely good — the roast chicken, Swiss rolls, the Member's Mark line has a solid reputation. I'm not about to dramatically cancel my membership.

But these incidents together shake something fundamental — the belief that "Sam's is expensive for a reason, their quality control is reliable."

Many of us pay that membership fee for one core reason: pay more, but get better vetting, shop with peace of mind.

But a live mouse in a mochi box, missing allergens on an ingredient list, formaldehyde-exceeded bedsheets — these tell you that premium doesn't mean problem-free, big brand doesn't mean immune to issues, and your trust doesn't mean you can buy with your eyes closed.

The regulatory summons? I think it's exactly what needed to happen. Not to destroy a brand, but to remind everyone: the bigger your market share, the greater your responsibility. Consumer trust isn't a deposit you can overdraw.