China has discovered that a batch of pistachio nuts imported from the United States were not only rotten but were riddled with white ants, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said on Tuesday.

The pistachio nuts were discovered by the entry-exit inspection and quarantine bureau of Guangdong Province on June 2, according to the administration.

They were confined to a 40-foot container weighing 19,958.4 kilograms and had been imported by a company in Guangdong's Zhongshan City, and had traveled to the mainland via Hong Kong.

Four packages of pistachios were rancid and emitted a noxious odor when inspected by local staff. The container was also found to contain an ant infestation, and the local authorities ordered the goods to be destroyed.

The administration said it had asked local inspection bureaus to thoroughly check the quality of pistachio nuts imported from US.

The administration also publicized some other unqualified US-imported food on the same day, which are three types of capsules and raisins from three US companies, namely K-Max Health Products Co., CMO Distribution Center of America, Inc. and Supervalu International Division.

It ordered its local agencies to tighten monitoring on food imported from the US and advised domestic importers to specify food safety requirements in contracts to lower trade risks.

(Xinhua News Agency June 13, 2007)