. K/ I' y% S+ \1 `8 x3 q- G由中国杭州中策橡胶有限公司(Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber)制造的这些轮胎缺少一层帮助加固轮胎、防止胎面分离的橡胶层——2000年，正是这个问题导致美国大规模召回凡世通轮胎(Firestone)。记者昨日未能联系到杭州中策的管理人员置评。 : ]& @+ m S6 Z, ~) x8 B 3 k5 Q( P$ U: T/ [# Y- U( b) I& V6 q( X: A4 Z, ^
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai 8 @8 D# {, I5 ~5 [
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 1 j, Z, Q$ M+ |
- c6 _, G) Z! n ' V- r2 W! D9 JBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION * N2 ~: W' O' S! V0 N( q / x* k9 K: S6 }7 }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.! f$ H$ D1 c& t2 B, @" K6 c
4 @6 Q) T: k- \6 WGovernment 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. ( A% C2 f7 A5 d' ?# O# O7 V0 Y3 X, e) i3 E. M7 [, t
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.' Y/ |( V; J; ?4 ^, S$ G
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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. " T9 O9 c! f0 m1 c4 |/ _2 I. r5 K! R0 ]2 f
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. / _" b4 v/ e/ B/ T3 o2 g5 D8 ], A$ {$ F$ }( b
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.' G% S. x3 ]6 `* |, s: ]
) X+ `7 \9 e% S1 y9 N) sThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. 3 m+ ?+ T- N* \+ z3 i& k6 ]" t( g' D# ^3 w! X* | g
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.”2 ]5 y' g6 s3 j3 H1 _: {
' v6 v; W; S8 I \# k h) b! cThe 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.7 N. e& u @1 H1 k7 R
8 m) \% ? Y9 _' `. h; aThe 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. 0 c J8 S/ w8 D. J* g% _, L4 v: _, L6 x$ F' O4 O: S/ m
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Financial Times
