In Shenzhen, China, a sample of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday. The brand of chicken is not disclosed, according to CNN.
Shenzen health authorities acted swiftly—immediately testing everyone who may have come into contact with the product. All test results came back negative, according to a statement by the Chinese government.
The area where the chicken was stored has since been disinfected. Health authorities are tracing related products that have already been sold, reports CNN.
Based on data from Johns Hopkins University, Brazil has reported 3.1 million COVID-19, coronavirus cases.
The Brazilian Association of Animal Protein responded immediately to the contamination news. They said, “It is not yet clear when the packaging was contaminated, and whether it occurred during the export transportation process.”
David Hui Shu-cheong, a respiratory medicine expert at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, disagrees. He told CNN that the imported food products that tested positive in China were almost certain to have been contaminated during packaging.
China Sees Pattern with Imported Goods
This latest contamination comes just a day after shrimp imported from Ecuador tested positive for COVID-19. It happened at a restaurant in eastern Anhui province.
Out of caution, China increased its screening of all imported meats and seafood back in June. And health authorities have consistently cautioned the public about buying raw, imported goods. Meanwhile, some social media users have gone as far as to request a suspension of frozen imports to the country entirely.
The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that COVID-19 does not transmit through food or its packaging.
“There is no evidence to date of viruses that cause respiratory illnesses being transmitted via food or food packaging. Coronaviruses cannot multiply in food; they need an animal or human host to multiply,” the WHO says, according to CNN.
Both organizations are in agreement that COVID-19 spreads person to person through respiratory droplets. These droplets expel when a contagious person coughs, sneezes, or speaks.
[H/T CNN]
