China blames media for food row

“One company’s problem doesn’t make it a country’s problem. If some food products are below standard, you can’t say all the country’s food is unsafe,” Li said.

 

“One company’s problem doesn’t make it a country’s problem” Li Changjiang, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine

He said more than 99 per cent of Chinese food exports to the US in the past three years had met quality standards, the same or better than that of US food exports to China.

 

Earlier this month a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman warned the media against exaggerating food safety problems and stirring consumer panic.

 

 

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine is China’s quality control watchdog and has some responsibility in overseeing the safety of Chinese products.

 

On Friday, it posted a list on its website detailing imported American meat that is said had contaminants, including salmonella, banned feed additives and veterinary drugs.

 

The agency’s list included frozen poultry from Arkansas-based Tyson Foods Inc, the world’s largest meat processor, which it said was contaminated with salmonella.

 

The move was the latest in a series of announcements in recent weeks that has seen China rejecting imports of US-made orange pulp, dried apricots, raisins and health supplements.

 

The announcements appear to be in response to US and other countries cracking down on Chinese products since the US Food and Drug Administration found in April that North American dogs and cats had been poisoned by tainted Chinese pet food ingredients.

 

Since then, a growing number of Chinese products have been found to contain potentially toxic chemicals and other adulterants, prompting major importers such as the US, Japan, and the European Union to push Beijing to improve inspections.