0 q( k8 S4 ^3 R, R# K 8 i6 v. C, Q2 a0 E# `By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai , t# S a; C( d1 p H5 F5 f* SWednesday, June 27, 2007 2 G: e2 e3 V g. ?
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BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION# U. m' w+ |9 A4 g& O2 Q* r$ \5 Y
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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.; y8 c5 O+ q; ?3 r3 r3 [1 F7 B$ U4 a$ |( m
" U8 |+ j' Z0 w/ LGovernment 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. * g8 n& |% X& h) ?+ ~. N0 x9 s+ z1 Q+ f0 S3 D' w9 }
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.' t9 s, k* Z; _/ ^4 g0 q3 }
! _- [" T6 v' J8 J c9 iThe 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.; A# x! p9 I" L5 p x
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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.: r$ `& H- Y, ?& m9 \
3 ^" }/ A9 ~* K1 S. j$ v( M6 s- EThe 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.- P$ D7 H8 F/ a# A' T
" {. b) d8 E/ w2 B( q2 f4 P1 }/ TThe agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. # v6 f9 Q$ ~/ q ? " q& m$ V l! H. k4 g9 I M: tAn 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.”) a6 [9 I9 p; E+ o- i
7 Z! B- F# o1 l3 Y# iThe 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. 1 B6 o& A" J9 ]& b) q; r/ C , i- K/ q. h0 b8 R9 sThe 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. " q8 d6 T7 Y% M/ F% p: l" s: g" K) A0 T! j; L
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Financial Times
