, \- X/ P" `# m. X( j) p1 gBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai ( E% q( Q! ^3 v/ P- F+ K! TWednesday, June 27, 2007 3 j# m; y* ~" Q8 V
" u( n+ n* A) |. s' o' v% t/ ` " C( C6 ~, f% T- u) O9 |BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION : j7 v& o# O; f! S* q6 [# r& k+ I! W# A' G1 l8 q: y
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. 7 P& e1 W5 D. q3 k! }+ g" _+ [9 P6 a% h
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., F$ k6 D/ Z& Q3 m. q
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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.3 ~8 M+ y8 g6 a: R: l0 }. A' i
6 l# A/ o# m8 }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. " ^; a/ M; H5 d, |2 V; C ! q a7 ^* y7 C; f7 x7 ZChina'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.2 q' u, ^1 ]- O+ _6 T
' {, N" D3 A5 i% q. [% I- u+ 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.5 N6 M* z1 d* Q
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. & s8 ~( F# O" I. t& r q) s, q" ?' G! ]5 P5 E8 f" G# t, T
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.”; g; h( n; N4 w$ P: z2 r3 h9 `' q6 M1 J! z
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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.$ I8 r% o. ?; Y
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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. + I/ h+ J f: T3 e6 V7 _ $ o u+ d! p* g8 @$ y& ~- p" { 2 N* J, H. c% ^5 P* t7 C3 W8 ~$ n1 M- j) R7 o
Financial Times
