% c4 [3 J& r3 {) J \- s2 B# ^ l/ k: }By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai 8 |, H, r5 |% I' }* s E' `
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 0 x( x j. e) C3 i) \2 G h ; [( W, V! @! z7 r5 x6 M7 E8 z7 x8 ?/ i3 v& T
BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION ; z# s7 J/ v' e( z7 ] & I7 R" X z# [# O- J9 ?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. / Q. Q+ N- p* N/ N ^, e9 X 5 ?8 k3 F& i$ m# W0 x6 _9 w8 \) RGovernment 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.8 v7 m: ~6 W( V9 @ v. ]
8 w- f4 ~/ f+ g3 V% yComing 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. $ P. F/ s9 Z3 \2 S; } v ) j* ?+ P' [ `$ {( 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. ; ~$ m# E2 D t5 s0 _4 y6 m: a. F- h+ w7 z0 t+ G
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. 1 o# u: n+ W3 p1 l' `- w$ U) ~( { ) ~0 b. ?# A- I/ K- u0 H' ^5 K; AThe 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.! C5 o) k& F" `; C& C- X# t v
5 x+ ]- t: F4 zThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. 8 h' B0 c8 S9 n0 o , ]0 s3 ^7 O: t& U8 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 K9 S7 w: d( x; }: N$ Z! z( p1 U+ r) R5 H0 N$ i
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. + M; t+ q# G, ~; _. N7 d. I/ T. A* ^
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.- @: O: f1 g( ^
5 s9 U0 ^6 C Y1 F ( N- x( I% L) R# h2 c5 |6 l! x$ J8 a( Q; b: F
Financial Times
