China reported two more cases of coronavirus-contaminated imported frozen products on Sunday, one in Sishui, East China's Shandong Province, and the other in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, pushing the number of cold-chain virus contaminations to at least 10 provincial regions in the country since June.
Observers explained that the recent flare-ups could be attributed to the latest wave of COVID-19 cases overseas, while suggesting a complete screening of all imported products as winter brings lower temperatures that could turn goods into virus carriers.
Sishui and Xi'an each reported one coronavirus-contaminated imported frozen product on Sunday.
The 109 products linked with infected pork imported from Argentina in Xi'an have been sealed off before entering the market, with 18 close contacts traced and put under medical observation, all of whom have received negative nucleic acid test results.
Shanghai on Sunday required nucleic acid tests and disinfection of outer packages for all high-risk imported frozen food starting Monday.
Zhengzhou, Central China's Henan Province, reported a batch of Argentina-originated frozen pork products whose outer packages have been found to be carrying coronavirus, local disease control and prevention authorities said on Friday, China News reported.
Five out of 15 samples from the outer packaging tested positive, and all personnel involved have received nucleic acid tests with negative results. The batch was immediately sealed off before entering the market.
Since June, more than 10 provinces and cities including Beijing, Liaoning, Anhui, Fujian and Jiangxi have discovered coronavirus-positive samples taken from imported frozen food or food packaging.
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, explained that the recent flare-ups could be attributed to the mounting numbers of COVID-19 cases across the globe, which brought bigger chances of contaminating local products which are later transported to China.
The upcoming winter season in the northern hemisphere could be another reason, as coronavirus lives longer in lower temperatures, Wu said, adding that strengthened measures in cold-chain monitoring have allowed contaminated goods to be spotted in time.
However, frozen food imports cannot be banned entirely, as China needs large amount of imports to fill the gaps in domestic supply, said Qin Yuming, an official at the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
China reported two more cases of coronavirus-contaminated imported frozen products on Sunday, one in Sishui, East China's Shandong Province, and the other in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, pushing the number of cold-chain virus contaminations to at least 10 provincial regions in the country since June.
Sishui and Xi'an each reported one coronavirus-contaminated imported frozen product on Sunday.
Five out of 15 samples from the outer packaging tested positive, and all personnel involved have received nucleic acid tests with negative results. The batch was immediately sealed off before entering the market.
Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, explained that the recent flare-ups could be attributed to the mounting numbers of COVID-19 cases across the globe, which brought bigger chances of contaminating local products which are later transported to China.
