China cracks down on U.S. food imports; defends its food safety oversight.

China has launched a crackdown on U.S. food imports, seizing 'rancid' pistachio nuts and vowing tough inspections in the wake of Washington's own offensive rejecting suspect Chinese food and drug ingredients. China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine told inspectors to step up checks of pistachio nuts from the United States after a 20-tonne shipment was found to have rotting nuts infested with ants, Xinhua news agency reported last week.

Reuters reports that China's toughened stance comes as its own exports face international criticism, especially in the United States, after a series of health scandals involving Chinese food, drugs and other products from poisoned cough syrup to tainted toothpaste and pet food. Last week, Chinese inspectors destroyed or returned nutritional supplement capsules and raisins from the United States after detecting unacceptable levels of bacteria.

A Food and Drug Administration official told the Associated Press that the U.S. is seeking more information on the latest cases of American products being turned away. "Whatever the motives are for this, if it's real, we want to know about it," said David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food protection at the FDA.

Meanwhile, China played down the country's food-safety problems but at the same time showed off room after room of confiscated fakes, indicating the extent of the challenge it faces to clean up the industry. Reuters reports that fresh scandals involving fake food and medicines are reported by Chinese media report almost every day, and the issue has burst into the international spotlight since tainted additives exported from China contaminated pet food in North America.

"Yes, we have had some problems with the food safety of Chinese products. However, they are not that serious," said Li Dongsheng, vice minister of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. "We should not exaggerate those problems. We are very concerned about food safety in China and we are very concerned about protecting the rights of consumers, but we do not want to cause panic among the people which may be unnecessary," Li told a news conference. "We have an expression in China: If you put a leaf in front of your eyes, you can't see the whole forest," he said. "It's only a small problem, but it is a small problem we must pay great attention to."

Reuters notes that AFBF had been pushing for immediate action to allow growers to employ workers from a pool of what they believe are up to 900,000 farm workers lacking proper documentation.