BEIJING, July 22 (Reuters) - China's quality control watchdog has announced that 14.3 percent of locally made truck tyre tubes failed recent safety tests, Xinha news agency said on Sunday, just days after a row about a U.S. recall of light truck tyres.

China has been reeling from a string of scandals over drug, food and product safety in recent weeks from everything from seafood to toothpaste.

The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said it had checked 51 truck tyres and tyre tubes produced by 30 companies in nine provincial-level regions including Liaoning, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

"The watchdog said 85.7 percent of the 14 tyre tubes, and all the 37 tyres, were up to standard," Xinhua said, adding that the tubes were only sold in China.

"The tensile strength of some tyre tubes did not meet standard and were inclined to burst when the trucks ran on roads."

Tests show that Chinese-made light truck tyres that the U.S. government ordered to be recalled actually met standards, state media said last week.

In late June, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration formally insisted that Foreign Tire Sales (FTS) Inc., of Union, New Jersey, recall as many as 450,000 tyres manufactured by Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., China's second biggest tyre maker.

FTS reported to regulators that the tyres, used on sport-utility vehicles, vans and trucks, could fail at highway speeds because they had an insufficient or missing gum strip that prevents belt separation.

China's quality watchdog also said that 6 percent of liquors were not up to standard. It said 2.5 percent of 120 kinds of fruit and vegetable juices and beverages produced by 110 companies in cities of Beijing and Shanghai and 10 provinces also failed safety standard tests.

"The watchdog added that all of the tyre tubes, liquors and fruit and vegetable juices and beverages were sold domestically and were not exported abroad."