# e8 `. _8 V5 L( ~1 w tBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai y: \- J U( g1 D7 ]* k
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 + @) Q N2 H4 B5 Z( j: J5 [
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION 0 N* }8 f" \/ o! u " t% C6 d, |5 z8 X, R0 C* {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. u# I7 A+ K l8 s6 c) m5 l 0 |" c% {: s5 l$ p# k$ Z; yGovernment 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.; ]( G( r1 ^& }4 S- N* z) w7 G$ n
" `* `$ i, W \! fComing 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.2 ?& t0 M! T0 n e
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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. " T4 _' I! K* h: ]% c8 p0 t J7 v" z& s Z7 S8 f5 A% A# ~
China'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. 1 u3 N$ W2 y h7 t. v 6 K9 _3 G5 B K/ K3 {6 K) }6 j+ IThe 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. ! h' r- N& b6 u! y6 r / Z$ ^- e( W' T6 ^1 Q! z5 tThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. " T! O& w; S/ G6 Z" J7 z3 M) u: e( P: Q" u( k% c) o' k5 ~3 f
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.”* V4 |9 _2 w' V" t
: Z4 G) n3 z4 t2 Z# jThe 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.5 U8 f. E8 V; @6 ]- w
) D3 ~5 ^9 R$ c qThe 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.7 O9 b& a6 J9 i. p0 N
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Financial Times
