China's quality supervisor said on Tuesday that it would step up checks of soybeans from the United States after tons of soybeans were found tainted by pesticides.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (GAQSIQ) said the local quality watchdog in eastern Zhejiang Province found some 57,000 tons of US soybeans were mixed with soybean seeds coated with three types of pesticides, metalaxyl, fludioxonil and thiamethoxam.

Such seeds are for planting and usually bear warning colors such as red, blue or green, said the GAQSIQ.

In response, the GAQSIQ said it had issued a notice to all local quality bureaus, ordering them to implement an early-warning system within 90 days and step up inspections of US soybeans.

The GAQSIQ also informed the United States about the issue and required the US side to intensify quality checks on soybeans destined for China.

The GAQSIQ said it had found soybean seeds mixed in many batches of soybeans imported from the United States, which it said indicated there were major problems in the US soybean export system.

(Xinhua News Agency December 24, 2008)