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Majority of Chinese goods up to standard (2) |
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13:12, July 18, 2007 |
U.S. government data indicated that China sent more food products, at least in terms of dollar value, into the United States than any of these countries except Mexico in 2006.
Mexico shipped 9.8 billion dollars worth of food to the United States, followed by China, which shipped 3.8 billion dollars. By comparison, Italy shipped 2.9 billion dollars worth of food to the United States, followed by Indonesia at 1.5 billion, India 1.2 billion, Vietnam 1.1 billion and Japan 500 million.
At the same time the FDA issued an import alert for Chinese fish, it also issued alerts for Mexican cantaloupes and basmati rice from India among others.
In terms of food violation counts, Mexico and India are well ahead of China. Salmonella mostly found on spices, seeds and shrimps is the frequent reason for the denial of entry from India. Filth is the major reason that food from Mexico, including candy, chilies, juice, seafood and cheese, was rejected.
A recent report issued by China''s quality watchdog, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, sheds more light on the issue.
Last year, less than 1 percent of the Chinese food products were rejected by the United States due to quality problems, the report said, adding that the figure is even lower than the percentage of substandard U.S.food products China rejected last year.
Carl Nielsen, a retired FDA official who oversaw import operation and policy, said no single country should be faulted for quality problems.
"What we are experiencing is massive globalization," he told The New York Times.
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