http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E0C3B2A6-DE1A-46CD-9367-77FC08F24C49.htm
UPDATED ON:
FRIDAY, JUNE 29, 2007
7:38 MECCA TIME, 4:38 GMT
US blocks China seafood
Shipments of catfish, as well as other farmed
fish and seafood have been stopped by the FDA [AP]
US health officials have blocked the import of Chinese farmed
seafood, joining a list of contaminated or defective products from China deemed
potentially hazardous to health.
Shipments of catfish, shrimp, eel and other types of fish
were stopped after testing repeatedly turned up contamination with drugs banned
in the US.
China is the world's largest producer of farmed seafood and
the third largest exporter of seafood to the US.
But the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stopped short
of ordering a complete ban, saying there had been no reports of illnesses and
it did not pose any immediate health risk.
Instead it said the temporary block would remain until
suppliers can prove the shipments are free from harmful residues.
Growing list
The seafood joins a growing list of Chinese products that
officials in the US and other countries have banned or issued warnings over.
Tainted Chinese goods
China this week "guaranteed" the safety of its exports,
especially food, saying it has closed 180 factories in the past six months over
poor standards. But many countries have banned, recalled or raised concerns
over Chinese produce.
United States
Chinese Fish, shrimp and eel found to have traces of
antibiotics and antifungals. Pet food said to be tainted with melamine, a
chemical used in plastics and fertilisers. Filthy frozen crab meat, roasted eel
laced with unsafe additives and tilapia tainted by salmonella
Japan
Chinese toothpaste made with diethylene glycol, a toxic
ingredient in antifreeze. Antibiotic or pesticide residues in food products
Europe
Excessive antibiotic or pesticide residues in Chinese
shrimp, honey and other products
Hong Kong
Chinese turbot found to contain traces of malachite
green - potential cancer-causing chemical used to treat fungal infections
China
Babies die after being fed fake baby formula,
cancer-causing dyes injected into eggs to make yolks redder, and children given
saltwater passed off as vaccines
Alerts have been raised over such products as toothpaste made
with diethylene glycol, a toxic ingredient more commonly found in antifreeze,
toy trains coated with paint containing lead, and defective tyres.
Earlier this year, melamine, a chemical used in plastics and
fertilizers, surfaced in US pet food, killing hundreds of animals and prompting
wide recalls.
On Thursday China's ministry of commerce insisted that the
safety of Chinese exports was "guaranteed", making a rare direct comment on
spreading international fears over tainted products.
"China pays close attention to anything that concerns food
safety, especially people's health, no matter whether it's food imported from
other countries or exported from China," spokesman Wang Xinpei said.
"The quality of food imported from China is guaranteed."
Commening on the US block on Chinese seafood, FDA officials
said the level of the drugs found in the affected fish imports was low and they
were not urging stores or consumers to throw away any of the suspect seafood
yet.
David Acheson, the FDA's assistant commissioner for food
protection said it was "a low likelihood" that the drugs would prove cancerous
over the long run, but added that "we don't want to take a chance".
The FDA will allow individual shipments of certain seafood if
a company can show the products are free of residues of these drugs.
Chinese toothpaste, some made for children,
have been found to have a toxic chemical [AP]
"This shifts the burden of proof back to the importer to
prove to us that it is safe," Acheson said.
The FDA currently inspects only about 5 per cent of farmed
Chinese fish, agency officials said.
The FDA also found companies in the Philippines and Mexico
using the drugs and has issued similar import alerts for those products.
In May, the FDA stopped shipments of frozen crab meat found
to be filthy, as well as roasted eel laced with unsafe additives, tilapia
fillets tainted by salmonella and an unidentified fish mislabelled as catfish.
Earlier this week Chinese authorities announced that they had
shut down 180 domestic food manufacturers in the past six months for making
substandard food or using inedible materials for food production.
Beijing also said it would scrutinise imports and deal with
violations according to international safety standards, after seizing shipments
of orange pulp and preserved apricots from the US, citing high levels of
bacteria, mildew and sulphur dioxide.
But China's economic boom, and its continued growth, depends
overwhelmingly on its position as one of the world's biggest producers of
consumer goods.
Al Jazeera's Beijing correspondent Melissa Chan says with
questions growing about the safety of those products it now needs to build
global trust - so that people around the world will not become suspicious when
they see the label, "Made in China".
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