Beijing – China has sharply increased inspections of imported U.S. food, escalating a dispute with Washington over product safety and leaving American beef piling up in warehouses and delaying shipments of black pepper and other goods.
Authorities who used to inspect as little as 5 percent of imported goods now check every shipment of American poultry, snack foods and other products, companies and trade groups say.
The stepped-up inspections are the latest volley after a series of large-scale product recalls – from bad pet food to dangerous toothpaste and toys – raised scrutiny of Chinese-made products in the United States.
On Saturday, Beijing said it rejected 18.4 tons of American pork because it contained ractopamine, a drug that is used by U.S. hog farmers to produce leaner meat but is banned in China.
