Anxin wood flooring pulled off shelves

Anxin-branded wood flooring products have been pulled off shelves in several stores after netizens claimed that the flooring was produced using substandard materials.

A manager at a Shanghai outlet of B&Q, Europe's largest home improvement retailer, said Tuesday that wood flooring made by A&W (Shanghai) Woods Co has been temporarily pulled off shelves at all B&Q stores in China pending the release of quality test results.

Some property developers have temporarily stopped using Anxin-branded wood flooring for new construction projects and have launched their own quality checks.

Real estate developer Shanghai Greenland Group, which used the Anxin-branded wood flooring for one of its projects, said Tuesday it has launched on-the-spot checks and will take responsibility for any defects.

Hu Ya, a spokeswoman for A&W (Shanghai) Woods Co, confirmed that the company has temporarily halted the delivery of products to real estate developers and also pulled its products off shelves in some stores pending the release of government test results.

An online post published on Thursday claimed that the flooring, which major developer China Vanke has used to decorate 10,000 homes in over 10 cities nationwide, is substandard and contains excessive levels of cancer-causing formaldehyde.

Tan Huajie, secretary for China Vanke's board of directors, said at a Monday press briefing that the company purchased and used Anxin-branded wood flooring for 29 construction projects in 16 cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Yu Liang, president of China Vanke, said the wood flooring involved is worth 130 million yuan ($20.7 million) and that the company will take responsibility for any quality problems.

Hui Xiaowei, vice president of A&W (Shanghai) Woods Co, denied the allegation on Friday, saying at a press conference that all wood flooring sold by the company is up to national standards.

The bureau of quality supervision, inspection and quarantine of Shanghai's Qingpu district said Monday that it has launched an investigation into the case, with results expected later this week.