! o3 `( l5 X4 n# gBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai 0 q( _9 W) b" H. W9 O* b9 H
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 ) R+ _' Y* H+ v# X* G# n- M; K6 \% w+ q4 P5 X8 \2 {
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION ! ^) J! T" f# ^0 V$ z9 D9 g * A6 |" C2 v8 e- `8 h. p9 AChina 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 X R" }! v2 y1 E. e
4 V4 P0 L/ v- Q; G& \4 L( tGovernment 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. , ~0 L# r/ g) |4 S0 D9 f" i7 d9 h
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." B. x7 p3 y; T) C4 B
# Z: G1 N' n- NThe 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.# b! s+ v% C' M. e2 d! b) Z
4 e) E/ d0 A R- w9 ~. oChina'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. 6 `/ C& @4 u, h/ {+ d! }. t& m2 R# q' A1 S7 J+ Q% _9 g! q* Q
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. . [* Q+ [0 k! L' D3 b& S/ ?+ C; `, F! u7 l9 u: o. P* H
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.4 r/ t) o6 o" C' I# w
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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.”' }. m+ \- E' N2 B- |
/ c2 [# M+ _4 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. 6 a/ G6 m' ~* m' S5 C. r, ?" o, r; V- y) J: _" g
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. 3 _$ A& n) I1 D# @3 `" }: n6 k. O0 D: U; \$ D* Q& _% } q* s
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Financial Times
