China claims U.S. soybeans are tainted

BEIJING — China, on the defensive over the safety of its products, lashed out Wednesday at the U.S. by claiming its soybean exports contained pesticides, poisonous weeds and dirt and blaming American manufacturer Mattel Inc. in part for lead tainting that prompted the recall of millions of toys.

China is facing a global backlash following discoveries of high levels of chemicals and toxins in a range of Chinese exports from toothpaste and seafood to pet food ingredients and toys. Beijing has tried to defend its safety record and reassure consumers by highlighting similar problems in other countries.

“Numerous quality problems” have been found with American soybeans, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a notice posted Wednesday on its Web site.

“We’ve already made exchanges with the United States, demanded an investigation into the cause, and asked that effective measures be taken to improve the situation to avoid similar incidents from happening again,” the Chinese watchdog agency said.

One batch of beans in February was found to contain red beans and pesticides that constituted a “great potential hazard to the food safety of Chinese consumers,” it said.

Soybeans, which are mainly crushed for oil and used as animal feed, are the biggest single U.S. farm export to China, according to the American Soybean Association. China has bought billions of dollars worth since the current market year began in September.

The accusations against the U.S. come as a growing number of countries are rejecting or recalling Chinese exports.

In the latest development, a distributor announced a recall in Australia and New Zealand of Chinese-made blankets found to contain high levels of formaldehyde, a potentially cancer-causing chemical preservative.