- {5 M( C6 X$ j) h/ ZBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai $ x& g) T, f/ [$ I+ z7 lWednesday, June 27, 2007 8 i/ m5 t" h- k8 _ 3 y4 Y7 H2 h& e( {+ k% q- r* c2 R! M8 y4 L
BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION E. l+ R, X* U) Z& m3 X, E1 [) H. A) y1 u6 C6 V2 G
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.2 e; g- {% s+ i8 r
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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. ! @- y# O3 E" \0 i. I7 I6 s6 H9 J# f6 F: I
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.1 W" A: l8 k/ F+ \& L M
! L8 Z% [0 e \$ s) d3 e5 }& b8 S( cThe 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.1 U/ v- @5 U) G( M" @
* k2 d5 ~& c8 }" Q5 G0 J' x+ H6 Z/ T8 D5 IChina'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. ' S+ B1 k" k- [0 b+ w& d 7 r" O5 H: j5 V8 UThe 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./ f% ^( K9 H$ V, K& I0 D
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. : h7 ^$ I3 V- a l2 n. u, L " I/ L7 Z1 g. E$ I/ {8 EAn 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.”" b% @- \8 g- w' u
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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. 3 A& }" S6 j! e: i( }8 U * x7 v. R- n$ M, S. }* T1 rThe 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." ?2 B$ x8 c/ ?2 A& P, |% j
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Financial Times
