China to United States: We don’t want your nasty nuts

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Chinese companies have come under fire in recent months for failing to stop poisonous ingredients from being used in exports like toothpaste and protein supplements used in pet foods. No doubt seeking to salve a wounded national pride, Chinese authorities struck back at U.S. regulators recently when they halted a shipment of pistachio nuts from the United States that was “rancid and infested with white ants,” according to China’s Xinhua News Agency.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced the discovery yesterday. Following orders to take a closer look at U.S. goods coming into China, inspectors in Guangdong province had found the bad nuts on June 2. 

Xinhua helpfully notes that eating rancid pistachios is probably not a good idea:

The rancid pistachios would have harmed people’s health if they had been eaten, and the ants could have damages on buildings, houses, trees, and cables buried underneath the ground, according to officials with the administration.

Other imported U.S. products under scrutiny in China of late: raisins and nutritional supplements. Perhaps I should be careful where I buy my trail mix.