, w# T6 H- I$ x0 u# l2 ]+ M& k# LBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai : ~3 z" K9 y3 @, ? z- uWednesday, June 27, 2007 ( Q$ ?7 Z% B+ u& J6 }/ p
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8 G& q/ {9 `0 P) g$ B- I3 kBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION - J) W4 \! o/ S: l8 S1 q2 P8 R 6 o' J' B- ]; h8 ]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., T+ q# W7 \3 J+ L4 R9 b
& @: m+ A- q) {& E, L9 zGovernment 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.6 o: u4 b& v5 F
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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.$ Q; q: v$ R* B6 ?) U+ M( [
4 p0 u* l& w( p% F& CThe 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. 6 _. w- [' y. i1 [. V9 z4 j- \& h2 L7 P# f6 z3 R
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. # M# }' f9 Q/ m8 ^8 C' ^% V1 Y" s% [" I
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. ; H4 m: K3 K) M2 ^6 |# B- ]& q$ D4 [# @1 c, \
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. . |- b9 n* j0 z' r, z. n/ b3 X# o" H- x, @8 e/ x) |; o
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.” 8 ~1 Y7 p6 N( E$ {+ V; Z* O* d R! ^# w# _+ b" @% l
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.. b3 y% H0 y( ]/ r" {7 E
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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., E" D# _8 x( i5 ^
