" Z h8 T* c+ |) ?0 h4 j+ k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。 ' B2 Y* G( T9 A1 z6 F. O: m4 J( G/ {, B5 U' ?! O
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By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai " Y" x$ s1 ^& B5 Y+ e _8 b5 G
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 0 t: N) Q1 h% |5 K5 b / M1 p' F. u! a4 z! N7 P, {+ O8 w( O! {+ O
BEIJING'S SEIZURE OF US FOOD SEEN AS RETALIATION ; Z) G) U# d( \& l2 P: @. P8 c1 e. O' @9 g% W2 | J
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.. f% F3 w# L, E) h( v& S" S" @% f
6 n8 T# {# r4 aGovernment 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.9 q9 s$ m; h5 a
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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.9 u" v7 `" `8 g1 o, G& L1 T
: G Y! U: n! P# M3 j6 zThe 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.3 ~9 v5 c' t \, T& N
5 d/ U J. t2 H x: \; H7 TChina'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.$ E( V2 | K4 U
2 u( Q7 F3 t: ^; KThe 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.9 C7 H% |. U8 w M3 d
; C' ]$ E- A2 ^The agency's statement said local departments had been advised to “strengthen quarantine and inspections on food imports from America”. S/ v" e' }! m* m+ l+ j! ^8 r
# Q8 u+ h" a# V& t2 @9 T* }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.” " o3 i5 v% |# ~% k# d5 Q " l0 r" Z5 K8 c9 X3 f* \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. * q# u! d: t9 D( q* B- Y' w; i, r* y
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. " c0 M8 V* T- x# ~( E2 r % |) |& F/ A Y7 p' ?5 {- _# B. R3 c8 d
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Financial Times
