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By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai ; A/ W) [6 M+ T, sWednesday, June 27, 2007 2 _ O5 r6 g9 v 2 d7 `8 m; T2 k$ p - N: S. Q6 [! @6 z" z8 FBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION : g9 l* I4 k" x4 b; F5 x2 L% C8 I3 _/ O& }5 N W. Y
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.% c9 |& Q% V$ M7 h" @4 E, z% B6 Q2 `
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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.6 o& T4 a, x" t, J1 o: E
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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.6 f k/ n5 C, L4 F% {
9 a K7 i2 c" p# p- o+ `) n" DThe 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. ) m* [9 z1 z+ ]2 C) M; Y: {' |0 M* j+ ]
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. ( V/ b( ]- x5 e) u4 ?* {9 h% V ~/ S3 t, K. J! ~$ n K# v; e
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. ( l7 e* r# p- M: @ $ J/ Q3 C9 [5 s9 K% P# J: oThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.# e* M5 Y% k9 O1 ^5 e
, {2 \2 K$ t! N0 l# O+ u+ uAn 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.”0 Z( p. @$ K! Q( Z0 z9 K" p
" @% [$ A4 G0 t$ kThe 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. ' @" m" P/ ]0 h% \- r5 p5 r- K! t; l, O: D+ g7 |+ \
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. # v4 I$ P, }; x- L0 R. _ , s' R# [. B( C . z7 q% W: [( l) k* N! S ( m/ {4 b6 I* _# v0 J" HFinancial Times
