0 N' _& B( L1 Z1 x8 Y2 E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。 : c, M2 K6 h6 }8 F& `8 F . ?3 Z9 S$ h# n: ^) o- F 8 ^) s" S8 ?6 a7 lBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai - f I' ?8 ]6 p, F' C% \& k% w0 j3 W/ DWednesday, June 27, 2007 * u l6 ~2 }; [. ?4 C. |2 r4 _/ X7 O; y6 J
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION 3 u9 a! x' J" N3 A! K! Y: F- i5 c5 ^; B6 W4 L) F
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. ! `2 O9 l M0 }" c: _! _ 8 m3 K: ~6 |8 rGovernment 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.; j4 y$ m/ s9 v# }/ j5 \+ D
$ U7 w- ]. v) {/ [1 |" gComing 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. 5 J5 \) C& s7 ?6 w9 v: K T0 l- \* a8 r) N* x0 C& w
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.. c/ s/ W. n9 a3 x& i
! f0 }4 |& k7 bChina'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.! |: j8 S3 S! i5 A
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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.; ~* e9 c0 S2 n J/ g" O' C
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. * C \4 W' e9 F8 }% p0 W/ ?6 @+ D2 S2 h5 B8 S$ I; x
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.” $ n& @5 e7 o4 H1 e" I3 L. S- a' G/ f' P; v0 W2 \: u" f
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. ) ]! r; u) O: D+ t9 @: n( b, j0 ]% z* Z0 B- `% k- C6 S
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. 4 j9 R$ | b0 w% \ # |* \2 F/ S; n9 A" I V1 `# o+ ^2 }/ M2 b0 ^' P$ g* }
