China imposes Indonesian seafood ban By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer

China imposes Indonesian seafood ban By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer
39 minutes ago



BEIJING - China has banned Indonesian seafood after checks turned up dangerous contamination, the Beijing government's food regulator said. Indonesian authorities called the move an apparent reaction to an Indonesian ban on some tainted Chinese products.

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China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on its Web site late Friday that seafood shipments shipped after that date would be returned or destroyed.

Seafood received before Friday will be carefully inspected, the agency said.

The announcement did not cite any specific seafood products but the Chinese administration said Indonesian products have been found to contain mercury and cadmium, metals that can accumulate in water and soil from burning garbage, mining or other industrial processes. Both contaminants also have been linked to nerve damage, cancer, and other health problems.

The agency also said Indonesian products had been found to contain nitrofural, an anti-bacterial agent that could cause cancer in laboratory animals.

Martani Huseini, a senior official at Indonesia's Department of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, said Chinese move appeared to be a reaction to an import ban imposed over safety concerns last month on Chinese food supplements, cosmetics and medicines.

"I was startled to hear (the news)," Huseini said, adding the two sides would meet to discuss the matter.

Chinese products including toothpaste, toys, tires and fish are under increased scrutiny worldwide and have been banned in some countries after being found to be tainted or otherwise unsafe.

Indonesia has said it found that some Chinese cosmetics contained mercury and rhodamin; that medicines contained unauthorized chemicals; and that food supplements had some dangerous additives.

Rhodamin is used to color products ranging from paper to food, and can irritate the eyes or skin and be toxic if swallowed.

Huseini said Indonesia would investigate the Chinese claims but was confident his country had fulfilled all international seafood processing standards.

China last month suspended imports of chicken feet, pig ears and other animal products from seven U.S. companies, including the world's largest meat processor, in an apparent attempt to turn the tables on American complaints about tainted products from China.