China detects virus in shrimp packaging

BEIJING/QUITO: China said a handful of packaging samples of imported shrimp tested positive for the coronavirus, raising questions again over whether the pathogen can spread through food or frozen products.

The virus was detected on the outside of about five shrimp packages and the inside of one shipping container, said China’s General Administration of Customs. The samples were from three Ecuadorian plants, and imports from those processors will be halted, it said. A leading Ecuadorian shrimp exporter disputed the findings.

“The test result doesn’t mean the virus is contagious, but reflects the loopholes in companies’ food safety regulations,” said Bi Kexin, director of the food import and export safety bureau in the customs department.

“Cust o ms wi l l f ur t he r strengthen control of the origins of imported cold-chain food.”

China last month pointed to imported salmon as a possible culprit for Beijing’s fresh Covid-19 outbreak, sparking a boycott of the fish as supermarkets took the produce off their shelves. China also began mass testing of cold food imports at ports, and blocked shipments from meat plants abroad that reported infections among workers.

Evidence suggests that it’s extremely unlikely for the virus to be transmitted through food.

The US Food and Drug Administration issued a fresh statement on the matter, saying there’s no evidence that Covid-19 is transmitted through food or food packaging. AGENCIES