8 f+ c' z4 U2 d. |, z5 ]美国政府下属的国家公路交通安全管理局(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)周一宣布召回新泽西州分销商Foreign Tire Sales销售的轮胎，这些轮胎可用于有篷货车、SUV和小型敞篷载货卡车。 & q% y2 h4 \" E( x * ?. l& ]- b+ x9 C( }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。+ o2 c l( j3 }( E2 Z) W
$ o% c: {0 ], F- r6 q7 F; i K; D # o8 V% C2 o1 r d% ~By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai - g* f9 ?0 V' r* C m6 o: u! RWednesday, June 27, 2007 7 W$ e3 ~8 w" ?1 ]" N8 e ) s" P- x: s. V5 e5 @5 `; z3 W; S) k7 E1 f7 C2 d/ ^8 H& @
BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION 5 r1 Z9 A/ @ Y% t, O/ s7 `3 l4 S5 n; U% B2 b5 k
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 q: B* ?) V' i/ ^# a3 p" k# F+ }
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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. ' a( L* h- B( P3 ~: b- g# n+ m: a2 `5 n! e `6 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. A+ N) @6 i4 h$ H0 h# e, r( h1 d" p# L- K
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. 4 t0 m6 c J9 R- A; h1 i, M& b0 ^5 H
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. 8 T& o: }3 f q" [6 {! q* N4 I; @8 ]/ B& ~: O
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. g7 ?: X- D: W3 R. j; m- j( W: Y
9 p( n' T( l/ K6 AThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. 0 `5 S4 x, S5 [0 I" @% L8 g- d* R% d% A: p9 K+ Q8 h
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.” ! \5 q4 E) r: x- {5 V 1 z1 y1 Z- S, u6 ~( X" VThe 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. 8 Y; |! V; l9 {7 i- e E J! A
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." n6 R1 W3 z/ e3 E$ j0 p" I) `
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, E) c" Q5 o- w+ b * _" j7 l0 A, v8 U+ }" i- KFinancial Times
