9 ~' p) O z: vBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai . T, e- a t6 X4 f. p( x5 B: TWednesday, June 27, 2007 + o: Q2 U8 m2 ^3 Q7 b, h9 l) X5 u0 h" }- w N0 U
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION 4 X& @$ O4 F$ ], G $ X+ W4 ]% L$ c; K1 \# s Y' X3 e) pChina 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.! ?+ P) G" U8 c0 \9 S
* A( D& M, B& r0 YGovernment 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.% a: s- Q( G+ p9 y
; [* d( ^6 Q' @! x& H6 ZComing 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.: \+ i! U: F- i+ ^3 J, p
) [! r# f7 P' g7 V2 ]/ n; kThe 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. e5 \1 D9 g d& U/ l0 h1 X ! V, s. F9 _: L3 KChina'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. 8 B4 S$ t5 I7 b3 C3 O/ J; E * U) C; z; f+ T$ `. mThe 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.2 ^% f, P( B' I( F& B% k
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”." t# ?9 I3 l a. x0 G# A& s( M1 X
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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.”- ~2 z' P; \+ b" v) l- x
o9 D) R1 w& x9 B5 p1 ], PThe 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.# y& B# T# i! x' `# T
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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. [+ A b' X: j. { f % _$ _& p: ~; E' e j+ t* _7 j& D4 c: |) V) K4 m
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Financial Times
