. E% a! i' \# u8 }, I% UBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai ( k# X: l' Z/ ^- x* h& nWednesday, June 27, 2007 . Y7 a `8 I7 a
3 G" O0 ^% v! h. m, Y4 A 6 y4 Q: a. l$ |7 I8 \BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION1 {& a# k. `( m0 [ o" m
; k2 r/ ?0 y3 R; v" Z9 E/ J5 S+ R) bChina 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 h% k4 o* S9 F" w, F* o0 ~. Y
! F. j7 z3 c" b& B) C% O9 nGovernment 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. " O R- @' L. G! e# ]9 u) x2 w. M ! s ?$ {/ S) b1 C* Q) g0 tComing 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 N0 _" J( C o. k7 j
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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. : m% e" e! j- H/ r8 W5 {8 h! x8 p. x
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. : ^9 U" @9 B# P* i" M% g- y- M2 d6 p" U0 {* Z6 l
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. 7 h6 w5 z# w& j7 Z 8 w1 j, B* X$ ~7 K2 K2 ?' LThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. " Q6 a s/ J/ ~' L# g% A6 P, x) Y6 G 4 X) U5 j3 q7 E% HAn 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.”: }& I1 O: ]8 ? l Y8 x
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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.: }! m. p3 u9 F2 M, b; c
, b8 A0 R3 @- M( Q/ b4 ~' KThe 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. * P. R' ^! B% c " L# N. @4 _7 [3 e # k* Y1 G9 ]" D8 m$ z : Q. n5 U& I2 F# MFinancial Times
