1 A; T b3 w7 ] b' Y中国以产品不安全为由扣留了两批来自美国的食品,并警告要加强对美国输华食品的检验检疫程序。" I/ M8 Z( u8 n( D9 ?3 C) m
+ T1 w* `( T7 H) z中国食品安全检查部门昨日在其网站上表示,政府检查人员分别截获了从美国船运来的柳橙果肉和杏脯,因为这些产品含有过量的细菌和霉菌。 ' @- {" ^" ^3 A) L1 h! d8 l' {' m# T% l. |* B1 X
由于美国不久前爆发了一系列有关中国进口产品的质量丑闻,因此,很多进口商会将这项公告视为中国官方的一种报复。2 K/ o O) _ d. D5 I/ i
, s/ N+ j+ a. ^& D$ [0 X5 E在声明发布前一天,美国监管机构宣布召回一家中国公司制造的多达45万个轮胎,原因是这些轮胎存在安全隐患。6 h! s$ r/ ?, }* U( p X0 a
- f% E O% s2 j5 `$ K9 U中国国家质量监督检验检疫总局(General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine)表示,柳橙果肉是在东部省份山东查获的,杏脯是在深圳查获的。4 V3 I+ X. L1 I
& I! ^9 X8 M/ I& R' x) O; b2 a' v质检总局表示这些货物“细菌总数、霉菌和二氧化硫含量超标”,但没有具体说明查获的时间和数量。/ L, _4 I7 H5 X3 H( S
( {5 {, I6 r; ~9 MBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai % p# c: s7 q- e/ U/ f
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 ( L5 ]. g& U; `* u
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION ! W9 P" ]& \9 q: F9 A( ]: ]0 b/ a+ V8 {+ m, c4 e0 ~0 C* A
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. 5 s; o9 Q- N1 @/ w : a" i2 `1 k3 [) cGovernment 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. / `. c8 g8 l) T6 j9 ~: o. X/ @$ J# c4 m) Q2 P! C$ s
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.: e. t W' T- T1 z; Y* W `
4 U I9 Q3 L7 A4 GThe 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. 1 o9 u6 I) Y9 S( G! y: P$ p7 Z- Z* W5 N2 T4 y( D
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. * y% k% U& F. n! D, U2 @9 h . z7 c- |4 x. S& e' wThe 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.% Z' }; u4 h2 s0 f1 i( q6 Z
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. ; V$ Q/ K9 n! X, [ x- Q 5 M+ L, k- s' R. h. Z8 s+ XAn 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.” + [. W. R3 Q1 g* l; S }" a4 {2 s3 j! U. J# d
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. . x! q: T4 q# e$ P8 {7 r1 @- s' ~! `& k Y0 P; Z2 L, Q" t
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.9 P1 W$ x3 L" X% {' U& H* F+ I) P
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