: f2 G0 p# x& `* ZBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai 6 ?. \& j8 b% i) X. z' x& |4 W
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 % J' t0 L" J8 C& K4 a! {/ \$ b) g! Y t. @1 c2 c' t1 U; ~
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION2 Y% b2 K. {; ]
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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. w% e% Y/ B# T8 Q 7 m! N- W5 q/ SGovernment 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.+ {! t* y. K6 E6 M' ]
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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.( Z- g2 K [2 H) h. s
/ t5 [8 c; F) h2 h1 M2 p1 [, C1 BThe 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.) @% x" B- u1 p/ U; O F
% ]# _& I( O# @) o$ 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.) P& h9 c$ K8 T( W4 X4 c
' b7 O9 N- A& @# I9 F" {. A: oThe 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.! B+ R& M, i# Z' i" {+ k
2 v/ b$ R, N5 e* H/ e) pThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. 8 u. R; o$ N" I6 m7 U! G6 c' _- y- K! 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.” & n l2 i! j" Q3 k" R( F 7 \3 T. k ]% SThe 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. " H. D# ^" j+ e0 Q$ ~1 h! W9 ^
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.. f- {: C! ]% f" U! X# S6 p
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Financial Times
