15th July 2007, 6:47 WST
China has suspended imports of chicken feet, pig ears and other animal products from seven US companies - including the world's largest meat processor - in an apparent attempt to turn the tables on American complaints about tainted products from China.
The meat was contaminated with salmonella, feed additives and veterinary drugs, according to a list posted on the website of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine late Friday.
China's food and drug safety record has come under scrutiny in recent months following North American dog and cat deaths blamed on tainted Chinese pet food ingredients.
Worries at home and around the world have heightened as a growing number of Chinese products have been found tainted with dangerous levels of toxins and chemicals.
However, as China works to improve its food safety, authorities have prominently announced rejected imports - apparently to show it is not the only country with food export safety problems.
Frozen poultry products from Tyson Foods Inc, the world's largest meat processor, were found to be contaminated with salmonella, the Chinese product quality agency said.
Other imports barred by China included frozen chicken feet from Sanderson Farms Inc tainted with residue of an anti-parasite drug, as well as frozen pork ribs from Cargill Meat Solutions Corp that contained a leanness-enhancing feed additive, the AQSIQ said.
A Cargill spokesman denied the agency's claims, while a Tyson spokeswoman said the company knew nothing about the tainted product. Sanderson Farms officials were not immediately available for comment.
China's imports of foreign meat are growing but the country still supplies most of its own. Pork is the country's staple meat and most of the pigs are raised domestically.
However, a contagious disease that affects pigs has killed tens of thousands in China this year, and many farmers have stopped raising pigs because of worries they would lose money if the animals died. As a result, pork prices have shot up 43 per cent in the last year, a jump so serious that China's cabinet held an emergency session and Premier Wen Jiabao made public appearances to address concerns.
Additionally, though there may not be much demand for chicken feet and pig ears in the US, stewed versions of both are popular dishes in China.
The AQSIQ said frozen pig ears from Kansas City, Missouri-based Van Luin Foods USA, Inc were found to contain the leanness-enhancing feed additive ractopamine. Products from two Atlanta, Georgia-based companies were also named on the list: frozen chicken feet tainted with salmonella from Intervision Foods, and frozen pork tainted with ractopamine from AJC International, Inc.
Sausage casing from a seventh company, listed by the AQSIQ as "Thumph Foods," was also found to contain ractopamine. It was not clear whether the agency was referring to Triumph Foods of St Joseph, Missouri.
Mark Klein, a spokesman for Minneapolis-based Cargill Inc, disputed the Chinese inspectors' findings that his company's products were tainted and said Cargill hoped to resolve the issue by working with US and Chinese officials.
"We're proud of our products and our processes, and we'll be delighted to talk about them with all concerned," he said.
Cargill is the parent company of Wichita, Kansas-based Cargill Meat Solutions Corp, which as of 2005 was the ninth leading pork producer in the US, according to the National Pork Producers Council.
Libby Lawson, a spokeswoman for Tyson Foods from headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, said the company was "disappointed with this news from China and are investigating these claims as this is the first we've heard of this development."
"We have received no notice from the Chinese government about this matter. We will work with the US and Chinese government to get this matter resolved," she said.
Attempts to reach officials with the other suspended US producers were unsuccessful Friday night.
Cargill, Van Luin and "Thumph Foods" were given 45 days to correct the problems, while the others were suspended from imports, though the AQSIQ did not say for how long.
It was also unclear whether the bans covered only the products in question, or all of the companies' imports.
A duty officer at the agency Saturday said he did not know details.
Beijing has taken steps in recent days to improve its product safety. It executed the former head of its drug regulation agency for taking bribes, and banned toothpaste makers from using a chemical found in antifreeze.
Officials have also vowed to better integrate China's fractured regulatory system, which splits responsibility among at least six agencies. Blurred lines between them often enable the country's countless illegal operations to escape detection.
China's government has thoroughly investigated each case of substandard products, the official Xinhua News Agency on Saturday quoted Li Yuanping, director of the AQSIQ's import and export bureau, as saying.
"All of them are exceptional cases," he said in the report, adding more than 99 per cent of China's exports meet standards.
"There is no such thing as zero risk. In term of food safety, it's impossible for any country to make 100 per cent of their foodstuff safe," he was quoted as saying. "China-made products should not be labeled as substandard just because of a few bad producers."
Beijing has previously rejected shipments of substandard orange pulp, dried apricots, raisins and health supplements from the US.
