Reuters AlertNet Lite - China finds worm-infested U.S. packaging

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China finds worm-infested U.S. packaging

31 Aug 2007 02:21:55 GMT
Source: Reuters

BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) - China found microscopic worms and other harmful organisms in several batches of wooden packaging imported from the United States, state media said on Friday.

The pine wood nematodes were found in 13 sets of packaging in the manufacturing hub of Shenzhen, the China Daily said.

China has highlighted several quality concerns with U.S. products in apparent response to recent complaints in Washington about the safety of Chinese exports.

A series of scandals involving tainted Chinese products ranging from pet food and toothpaste to toys has put increasing pressure on Beijing to clean up its manufacturing sector.

Harmful organisms were found in another 10 of 70 batches of wooden packaging sampled between mid-July and mid-August, the newspaper said.

This meant the rate of sub-standard packaging from the United States was higher than that for the European Union, Japan, Korea or Canada, the newspaper said.

The labels on some of the wooden packaging were unclear, the report said, adding that that this suggested some exporters might have used fake documents.

Officials have destroyed the goods and urged tighter supervision of wooden U.S. packaging, the paper said.

China recently destroyed a cargo of sub-standard frozen potato slices also shipped from the United States, and the quarantine bureau earlier this month highlighted a cargo of contaminated soybeans that arrived in February.

China has sent a notice to the World Health Organisation defending its own food safety standards and said it was willing to cooperate globally to tackle the problem.

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Last updated:Fri Aug 31 02:22:23 2007