8 w5 k4 M8 f, A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。# g* Y t2 D8 B: e/ H2 x4 k
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By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai 1 `/ m% y' s; {: g
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 7 F# R2 z- j/ I; {0 ~4 F, X- [( l3 g8 j& ?: Y, ?* I* s
/ k2 o, o$ N5 D0 f6 \' p8 dBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION " U3 `; s, O R & L! t' j; N! H2 xChina 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.0 U& ?7 F( N9 G3 n" |# W* K+ u
8 {) [" t% C5 bGovernment 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.2 `. b! z1 A7 `, ]5 R
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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. # e& m h5 w8 {1 I( S + q x5 R5 t' c) k5 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. & c. w' D$ J6 l9 ? ! Z9 E: Q/ e) q/ d% @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. ( J! G0 a! n7 |' x2 r, Y( P+ J/ p% r; F
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 y/ _0 w! r8 A" \( h3 K2 s; a) r7 s9 h+ X, U- a# \( Y
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”.( I7 C7 e4 l+ B: I% z% m2 @
i6 f. \ m6 _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.” ' P$ x3 W! s8 e8 v . Q; h3 y* p4 J" I6 o8 g( x; |$ i: zThe 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. + f" Z5 T% U. _! u& x6 ~/ I5 M7 \9 j3 O- T
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.3 Q& o9 P# C% d' r7 V7 ^
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& q% p% y5 ^5 S" N4 o/ H& C # a0 B5 _$ f( hFinancial Times
