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By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai [( J$ r( W8 }' c" F
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 Z5 B7 W. z8 \/ p: x4 x
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION, L3 Q9 F+ S7 {- p
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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.2 v* U4 X* H Y: M" }
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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.& P/ k. P: `* j" O7 b' j
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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. 6 c0 c y$ ~& [5 P3 J0 i9 W+ ~( Z& x% |( R! R
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 I% l1 g+ r8 V9 J# k2 b/ j, d/ k6 d+ y: }* \
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.+ Z9 m/ D& u) c4 X, O1 m% ?. A
* a. b+ @% p y) G7 BThe 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 F3 [# w4 Z2 Q9 [
, y% m4 I w3 V1 P. U7 cThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. ) X: W/ D3 t, l. P* m 6 u \4 F3 W9 S& LAn 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.”5 Y& n4 p4 y; d" a y s
- Q, G+ t a2 f3 bThe 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.: h) O3 B: D, D- f' h& P1 ~) ?2 Q
' V1 E" R" x- wThe 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+ y* X" d% {7 ]: `' \
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Financial Times
