6 h6 K8 i' j+ Z6 g) z5 M* ~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。 ' t4 o5 {) x8 n7 A+ q : T% X% A% c- G4 U8 P+ j2 H* d( P$ P6 K7 M3 [! h. q
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai ! |! ^: K% F9 P* f
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 , Z; @# P; r# F: }9 H
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION : P2 o4 f, Q! x& }/ K M3 { n3 S) N : [# |2 \4 \ \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 p/ p2 S& Q, a; T2 ^1 e5 Q0 |% e: J! l( P) s0 ?% g" r. P8 F2 N
Government 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. 3 R) d' P9 e) d" I! Z : d; D( B5 r* C7 @* NComing 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. 8 m9 S8 F) c1 ~% m! }9 K: S % x- P- _1 [' O! L1 H1 F n; B, pThe 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.) G/ M2 `7 n* j k
& o8 f2 j8 J0 l0 DChina'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.; |- k6 m# t/ e c H2 q) ?
& L( i" `( R# X% a- r5 C3 zThe 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. " ], ?/ V/ j' `0 \/ M0 p, Z) q x2 F' J9 C
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. ( ^6 e4 C# }4 p. D, [2 |" K6 G y1 I @4 v4 o
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.” ; s) G2 v( B6 o5 L# @2 _9 l7 b& ~/ U2 V" X9 J. r) o
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.+ }+ w R9 s8 l( Z' |
9 s" h5 Y' i# xThe 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. 6 \ `& ], \* Z% X8 {" P ' l* c8 V4 _9 d% l ; H9 V2 s7 R: e% h 3 e3 k* d3 U) f0 qFinancial Times
