JINAN, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese coastal city has rejected 47 tons of frozen sardines infected with disease-inducing bacteria which were originally manufactured in the United States.

    The batch of sardines, imported from a Japanese trading company, was stopped on Saturday by the Entry-exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of Rongcheng City, Shandong Province, according to the bureau.

    Sample detection shows that the sardines were infected with "listeria monocytogens," or a bacteria that can lead to various diseases, such as breath difficulty, vomiting, rash, meningitis, fever, coma and blood poisoning, or even death for human beings and animals, the bureau said.

    The sardines, valued at about 40,000 U.S. dollars, were found to be originally manufactured in the United States, it said.

    No further details were provided.