A8 `! r" k6 r F9 e0 W% S该机构在声明中表示，已要求地方质检部门“加强对美国输华食品的检验检疫”。# M1 P8 r$ W9 Y8 V
( B7 J- V) T% ~: I- |某欧洲贸易公司驻上海的一位高管表示：“没有看到关于这些货物的细节，我们说什么都没有把握，但显然，这看起来像是要引开人们对中国及其自身质量问题的关注。”4 {4 |" z# @! s I+ I
2 E; a: Y; z0 o美国政府下属的国家公路交通安全管理局(National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)周一宣布召回新泽西州分销商Foreign Tire Sales销售的轮胎，这些轮胎可用于有篷货车、SUV和小型敞篷载货卡车。 - h- i# m1 S! ~' I , O3 d0 W+ [; F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。. y3 w# s; g9 w- ^' u
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By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai ( A( Y, ~" W6 V# o6 tWednesday, June 27, 2007 / t6 g/ F' m+ Q: Y5 V: P$ ]
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% P4 c7 I S& R- mBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION! h3 f) K$ V2 D% g9 v9 Y
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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. : ^; Q8 K* k! }! Z 0 G' f+ s# l/ Y8 NGovernment 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.+ }" h( s( ?2 c( j" I* H0 w f j
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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. 9 @1 b4 `1 H7 p* l! U; q6 E9 F8 [ : w& @& K/ E5 m0 K. g9 o6 g" ~/ YThe 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. 5 {; B4 m0 ^ R& _* F/ d8 K7 m% }8 @! _7 l' \
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.: H: i2 c4 o' |
# [: X; Y0 Q! y: R* y6 D* c0 ?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.3 a8 u. `3 Q2 f; F5 l
, M( N, x: G4 f& L- E* FThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. - k% _6 [5 Y9 \( A; `. x" t: Z9 u0 V. I. \9 |% c
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.” ! |) e) Z& W- i' P% @% Q0 R6 L( X5 D4 [7 ~+ g) B) j/ V, 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.% P/ @8 S. o0 f
) V$ `5 X9 h8 x- }4 _/ R+ Y# J) rThe 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. [6 T9 K( s- ]2 @1 [/ e4 q3 y + k, i) m& I0 U: R4 K3 C% d- p! a) ` M v
