Novel coronavirus has been detected on imported frozen chicken wings from Brazil that arrived in Shenzhen, South China’s Guangdong Province, local authorities said on Thursday morning, Aug. 13.
A sample of frozen chicken wings was tested.
No one tested positive though, after Shenzhen's health authorities immediately traced and tested everyone who might have come into contact with potentially contaminated food products, the municipal government said.
All personnel who may have touched the product in question have received nucleic acid tests.
All the related products in stock were sealed off, while products that had already been sold were traced and handled by the relevant authority.
Other cases detected in China
A day before, China reported that coronavirus had been found on the packaging of shrimps imported from Ecuador.
Samples taken from the packaging of imported frozen shrimps from Ecuador in a restaurant in Wuhu, East China's Anhui Province, tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the virus was detected on the outer packaging of imported frozen seafood products in Yantai, a coastal city in East China's Shandong Province.
Suspension
China has suspended imports from three Ecuadorean shrimp producers after several other Chinese cities including the port cities of Xiamen and Dalian have also reported cases since July.
China embarked on intensive screening of meat and seafood containers at major ports after a fresh outbreak of the disease in June.
The outbreak was linked to Xinfadi, a wholesale food market in Beijing, with many cases involving low-income migrant workers at and nearby restaurants.
Procedures for packing frozen seafood means it is more likely to be contaminated, and the products are usually stocked in a low temperature environment.
This may give the virus a more conducive environment in which to exist.
The novel coronavirus, which causes Covid-19, is believed to have emerged in a seafood and wildlife market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.