' c' y$ }2 ^: F& A }4 J由中国杭州中策橡胶有限公司(Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber)制造的这些轮胎缺少一层帮助加固轮胎、防止胎面分离的橡胶层——2000年，正是这个问题导致美国大规模召回凡世通轮胎(Firestone)。记者昨日未能联系到杭州中策的管理人员置评。 / M- R8 p. d; T% E) X 1 T& |* \$ t7 z5 C% E: P E0 L' \1 U/ p. H
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai : m& u& [/ m. E: K w/ p. K" @# sWednesday, June 27, 2007 0 S! P% L& C' l3 |5 O3 G; h
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( D& t3 d( a' z; }1 C7 o6 J( ABEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION $ Y: k0 D. k9 i9 ^ ?6 ~9 D% J9 B o) g3 A C3 M& v
China has impounded two shipments of food from the US on the grounds that the produce is unsafe and warned that procedures for monitoring American food imports should be tightened.$ ?: `1 r1 \2 k; z7 k6 U- |1 G
5 z9 N5 \) v: O F4 BGovernment inspectors seized separate shipments of orange pulp and apricots from the US because they contained excessive bacteria and mould, China's food safety inspectorate said yesterday on its website. 4 Z X( r$ R3 ?: p% D6 u5 i6 O2 f) w4 j/ j6 ?+ X9 r: {
Coming on the back of a series of scandals in the US over the quality of imported goods from China, the announcement will be considered by many importers as a form of retaliation by the Chinese authorities.. w1 H* r4 A8 W) ^6 x8 i2 N# l* ^8 D
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The statement comes one day after regulators in the US announced a recall of up to 450,000 tyres manufactured by a Chinese company because of a potentially dangerous safety problem.7 ], p9 F# p7 W6 f) G( @: U+ {0 b
( i8 c% n5 P9 h+ I( OChina's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said it had impounded the orange pulp in the eastern province of Shandong and the apricots were seized in Shenzhen.: f8 o% m. D+ q* f/ w2 Z E
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The shipments contained “excessive bacteria, mould and sulphur dioxide”, the agency said, but gave no details about when they were impounded or how big the shipments were. " `2 ?2 D! U* t8 x9 y- I1 s+ Y! J6 l8 c" q$ p6 o
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. * `0 N: v) B2 G2 A' O, l8 R: G- M1 i8 Y9 ~2 v
An executive at a European trading company based in Shanghai said: “We cannot say anything for sure without seeing details about the shipments, but it certainly looks like a way of deflecting some of the attention away from China and its own quality problems.”4 V& `, \& n( u' P: r' Z1 ?
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The US government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced on Monday the recall of tyres sold by Foreign Tire Sales, a New Jersey distributor, which are used in vans, sports utility vehicles and pick-up trucks.2 U1 T; J; R7 A& ?" Z
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The tyres, made by a Chinese company called Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber, lacked a gum strip that helps strengthen the tyre and prevent tread separation – the problem that caused a massive recall of Firestone tyres in the US in 2000. Officials at Hangzhou Zhongce could not be reached for comment yesterday. & B! ]4 P/ {6 ^, C G l0 M" ] 4 u9 _0 J+ _4 V( ]/ D' x0 `( [& `2 M" v* d5 k
