China has suspended the import of tainted meat products from
seven US companies, including Tyson Foods Inc, the world's largest
meat processor.
The products that included the main ingredients of some Chinese
delicacies such as pig ears and chicken feet contained salmonella,
feed additives and veterinary drugs, says the General
Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine
(AQSIQ) website (www.aqsiq.gov.cn).
The other US companies on the ban list are Sanderson Farms Inc,
Intervision Foods, AJC International Inc, Cargill Meat Solutions
Corp, Van Luin Foods USA Inc and "Thumph Foods", which most likely
is Missouri-based Triumph Foods.
The last three firms have been given 45 days to get their
products in order. But the suspension period for the other
companies has not been specified.
In late June, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it
would not allow three types of farm-raised fish, as well as shrimp
and eel, from Chinese suppliers to enter its market till the
companies prove they didn't contain any harmful residue.
AQSIQ chief Li Changjiang called the move "unacceptable", saying
China, too, detects many substandard food products from the US
every year.
The AQSIQ yesterday said the local entry-exit inspection and
quarantine department in North China's Shanxi Province had found
excessive amounts of selenium in protein powder imported from
US-based Jarrow Formulas Inc. The products have been sent back.
Excessive amounts of selenium could lead to gastrointestinal
disorders, hair loss, neurological damage, cirrhosis of the liver
and even death.
(China Daily July 16, 2007)
