China has found many safety problems from soybeans imported from
the United States and urged the US authorities to improve quality
of soybean exports.
Local entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureaus have
discovered many quality and safety problems from US-imported
soybeans, said the General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) on its website.
Inspection and quarantine units often find hazardous weeds such
as sorghum halepense and iva xanthifolia that could threaten
China's farm production, forestation and ecological safety. The
imported soybeans also had soil clods containing pest which poses
threats to China's soybean production, it said.
In February, quality watchdogs found pesticide residue in
soybeans imported from the United States, it said.
Some soybeans imported from the United States failed to reach
the requirement in protein and oil contents, and had more
impurities than as required in contracts.
"These problems indicate loopholes in process of growing,
harvesting, storing, transporting, inspecting and quarantining
soybeans in the United States," it said.
The administration has notified the US authorities and demanded
an investigation into the case and effective measures to avoid
similar problems.
It also vowed a closer monitoring on imported soybeans and more
negotiations with overseas counterparts.
In recent years, China has been importing millions of tons or
more of transgenetic soybeans from the United States.
China announced on Monday it had returned 272 heart pacemakers
imported from the United States after they failed quality
inspections.
(Xinhua News Agency August 23, 2007)