The local Government in China has warned consumers in Shenzhe city to take extreme caution when buying imported frozen food. The statement by the local authority came in the wake of a report which said a surface sample of chicken wings from Brazil tested positive for coronavirus.
The positive sample appears to have been taken from the surface of the meat, while previously reported positive cases from other Chinese cities have been from the surface of packaging on imported frozen seafood.
Three packaging samples of imported frozen seafood tested positive for Covid-19 in Yantai, a northern city of Shandong province, the city government said on its official Weibo account Tuesday.
The chicken came from an Aurora Alimentos plant in the southern state of Santa Catarina, according to a registration number given in the statement.
After the announcement by China, Aurora Alimentos has issued a statement saying that it follows strict sanitary production protocols and it will provide information as soon it gets notification from national Chinese authorities.
In regards to China finding novel coronavirus on imported Brazilian chicken wings, the WHO reassured the public that there is no known case of foodborne transmission, and the virus on meat can be killed through cooking.
“The viruses can be killed like other viruses as well, and can be killed if the meat is cooked,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, the organization’s Covid-19 technical lead, at a press conference.
Foodborne viruses are derived from the human gastrointestinal tract, and their presence in water and food is a result of contamination with sewage, poor hygiene, or contamination by food handlers. Viral diseases are associated mainly with bivalves because they feed by filtering large amount of water, which causes the viruses to concentrate when the harvesting water is contaminated.
Foods associated with viral foodborne illnesses include shellfish, crustaceans and their products, Fruit/vegetables grown on land fertilised with animal waste or irrigated with contaminated water, Undercooked meats such as pork.
