9 q! J& Q- T4 P( tBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai . V3 `. x* O" ]1 a; BWednesday, June 27, 2007 3 q" F* {% [& k# }8 v
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7 |' ~. Y* c9 B* RBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION ( }- f* H! u# s4 ^/ C! S' d; F3 @3 V7 t
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. B- r1 t6 r) J# d# c4 n. @. F3 w( u% S; Y: m! |
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.6 [1 o! h& B; m: W7 Y! K% o
4 c( N, o* F: |, uComing 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.1 [! Y/ [1 G: |
7 a: T1 U) W6 J* R, m. e' WThe 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. 9 B8 {6 M2 t- r: |* w: }- z/ b. H: z: V+ T( E, u- U
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. . E& w% a6 o3 z* Y/ d/ V0 z 3 Y6 z: I' q: C; B9 @& t- ]; F# RThe 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.; o8 ~: J4 O$ e% ]; m$ u
8 z ^8 L7 P" j/ [- x0 p6 q" q/ cThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. 6 b0 t0 o2 e) Q+ K+ H* Y5 D% k/ I+ J# s , |6 ~( O8 S* F& a2 jAn 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.”7 x) n8 l3 V6 X$ ~% l
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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.: d n: Y/ s9 }$ s# T5 p
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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.: g& q- ^4 a; J* ]8 q5 o3 G
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Financial Times
