China has discovered that a batch of pistachio nuts imported
from the United States were not only rotten but were riddled with
white ants, the General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine said on Tuesday.
The pistachio nuts were discovered by the entry-exit inspection
and quarantine bureau of Guangdong Province on June 2, according to the
administration.
They were confined to a 40-foot container weighing 19,958.4
kilograms and had been imported by a company in Guangdong's
Zhongshan City, and had traveled to the mainland via Hong Kong.
Four packages of pistachios were rancid and emitted a noxious
odor when inspected by local staff. The container was also found to
contain an ant infestation, and the local authorities ordered the
goods to be destroyed.
The administration said it had asked local inspection bureaus to
thoroughly check the quality of pistachio nuts imported from
US.
The administration also publicized some other unqualified
US-imported food on the same day, which are three types of capsules
and raisins from three US companies, namely K-Max Health Products
Co., CMO Distribution Center of America, Inc. and Supervalu
International Division.
It ordered its local agencies to tighten monitoring on food
imported from the US and advised domestic importers to specify food
safety requirements in contracts to lower trade risks.
(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2007)