4 y4 M2 {9 X6 \5 k P" lBy Geoff Dyer in Shanghai ! U9 R- A% E D6 u: |) O2 T
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 1 g* Z2 {5 ?4 w. N$ ^0 T J4 e, C( o0 X6 V0 y* H! g: E/ b
0 Z- n* e7 o' a3 u0 V, aBEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION' [* w' b- g9 o* s. a9 |
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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.$ D$ v: l) x% k9 O" b
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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. ( t0 @) k% Z' l/ F% q5 {/ @ 5 X7 e6 Q3 S/ X2 @4 F; FComing 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 ]( K! e8 Z* g! d, w! n5 O& D" q! d+ K5 k' w- E
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. 9 M% V" U. F) R3 A8 T- d $ \. s, J# L0 `; q$ wChina'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. , _& Q- v7 f7 o* L5 p9 M . s9 \; |7 \! y7 {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.- A! |) W+ L& M. W p/ g4 p7 r* |
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The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. ! b8 K- F! T- s! M7 H2 A/ Y 7 [, j: |, _0 Q" j% Q2 LAn 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.” 3 R( [ u) f# d+ M9 O; t% F/ i; v) R' H4 K f' G
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. ' [! b0 R$ T- n- X) j4 @" J! a# n$ u; |5 O2 n. Q; ~7 q
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. 9 k" Q& r5 A" M; g9 ~5 U. y! `+ ~. R) ]3 C
