TOPLINE
Officials in the Chinese city of Shenzhen said on Thursday that a batch of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil tested positive for coronavirus, sparking fresh concerns about contamination on frozen food packaging and following a scare in June surrounding salmon in Beijing, but World Health Organization officials said later in the day that there’s no evidence that the disease is being spread by food or food packaging.
Officials in Shenzhen said on Thursday that a batch of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil ... [+]
KEY FACTS
Officials said in a statement on Chinese social media platform Weibo that the import tested positive for the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.
They did not name the brand, but authorities are now scrambling to trace other products that have been sold by the company, while health officials in Shenzhen tested and traced people who may have come into contact with the product, with all testing negative.
Related products still in stock also tested negative, but have been sealed off, according to the statement.
Officials from the World Health Organization stated later in the day that they saw no evidence that coronavirus can be transmitted through food, with Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO’s emergencies program, saying, “People should not fear food, or food packaging or processing or delivery of food.”
Tangent
Authorities in Beijing increased screening of imported food in June, after a spike in cases linked to a seafood market in the capital. Traces of the virus were found on chopping boards used to cut imported salmon at the huge Xinfadi market, prompting shops and markets to rid their shelves of the fish. But experts have concluded that salmon is unlikely to carry the virus, while traces of the virus were also detected in 40 other samples from across the market.
Big number
3.1 million. Brazil has the second-highest number of Covid-19 infections in the world, after the U.S.’ 5.2 million.
Key background
Also this week, officials in eastern China’s Anhui Province found coronavirus on the packaging of frozen shrimp imported from Ecuador, the latest in a series of similar instances reported by Chinese state media. China suspended imports of frozen shrimp from Ecuador last month. Authorities in China are urging the public to remain vigilant about imported frozen meat and seafood. But the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as the World Health Organization, have said that the risk of contracting coronavirus through food is very low, with the virus spreading primarily through contact with contaminated droplets from coughing and sneezing.
Further reading
Food and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (CDC)
Chinese officials say chicken wings imported from Brazil tested positive for Covid-19 (CNN)
