w: s/ j2 u, I, c+ b/ x' HBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION8 q& p( k* H, n5 o3 r; u
, p2 J8 _4 ]! p0 l- t" W W2 tChina 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 P* k1 k+ f9 q# I; {, w
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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.7 u: D+ M5 V5 U9 i; d
; m2 q( q; p, XComing 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. $ G0 {" o; j9 i# r3 o! _ . b4 g% Z! p J2 n" [/ |) sThe 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.# V7 z3 Y4 | p1 J) W( A9 L# e
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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./ E8 _6 `7 O, f1 e
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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.! E- c- g8 e: V2 t
2 Q, G6 r( U- eThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. 1 W! Q3 {. J( v' A8 ] ; O8 s) g$ o& M0 t7 D vAn 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.” 2 C2 U2 H: j* W) ?, p % Y" }( B8 y0 ]1 w+ @& R* Z2 ]( I 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.% L2 w' r: C( v% P9 T% I9 X
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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. . t, T! f8 {+ H8 E & ?& e/ @2 A% n0 o- u 6 ]3 y+ X- M1 r. U/ n* a* l # ?" P' T( Y/ \4 vFinancial Times
