9 B# E, y: Z' M& o0 T q3 Z; J. b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。 # s Y% f! u# x! I6 [! `5 J9 A: q! W% ^ o4 n
1 F/ }* d3 B& i3 g( Q4 K$ q+ iBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai + p# u7 N% a9 n3 l8 z O0 N$ Y
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 g. q8 a# G/ q0 d, W$ U 8 r% B6 o4 \; ^8 N7 @! R$ i6 d- L b6 p ^, \ a; qBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION 7 C h- Z2 `+ l" `% s2 t! v( W : ?" ^9 y2 x& f7 _: Z5 R! ^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.+ w+ Y) r, s5 }( \, E
9 `" Z. k) [- l! ~( B) \0 b+ 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., P: N7 O' |. ?7 s9 u
6 J$ o# O4 f4 S0 vComing 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. ' a) s( v+ ^# i& H |( A `1 U9 a5 Z+ z. `5 `; ~$ L; c7 c: {5 ?4 J: Y1 H! J! I
The 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.4 R- A. z# X0 B
6 E% j% P3 |. V7 \0 q6 T5 |! e1 ~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. % i. k! M7 u1 l3 R8 l4 a% h$ I) s, c3 B* h9 O1 P9 g
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. # K8 c- W0 _8 b* P$ h* M: b+ a' ~2 | r8 o! ~# [) m! \
The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. . p- w; }( O5 G, ?3 o% x0 _( }/ c. t8 K1 C& H" M2 ~! t R' s, D, P
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.” / H* A1 x N9 m0 `( @- L % e# u! P3 @. L/ U$ M* ?- lThe 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. . G# l0 d% F+ q& _2 [, J! b" }/ @ `, g
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. ! U' j/ y: ?1 x. `0 q 8 r0 s( j T# u' U: O _. e+ S! I0 h, V& S" Q/ N" G# h; A% c7 A
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Financial Times
