Coronavirus found on frozen chicken wings packaging from Brazil, Chinese officials say
Chinese authorities announced Thursday that the surface of a batch of imported frozen chicken wings from Brazil — the second worst hit country by COVID-19 — has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The shipment arrived Tuesday and was tested the next day during a screening for the virus by local Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials in the Longgang district of Shenzhen in China, according to a statement from the Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters Office.
Everyone who may have come into contact with the contaminated shipment was tested soon after relevant departments were notified of the virus’ presence; all tests came back negative, authorities said in the statement. All of the products in stock in the city were also sealed and tested, to which results came back negative.
As of Aug. 13, Brazil has more than 3.1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and over 104,000 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins tracker.
“The headquarters office reminds the general public to be cautious in buying imported frozen meat products and aquatic products in the near future, and to take personal protection to reduce the risk of contracting the new coronavirus,” the statement said.
The incident marks the second one of its kind this week. The coronavirus was found on the outer packaging of frozen shrimp imported from Ecuador, Reuters reported. And since July, there have been a handful of more cases involving the contamination of frozen foods with SARS-CoV-2, the virus driving the pandemic.
Both the World Health Organization and the CDC say that it’s “highly unlikely” that people can catch the coronavirus from food or food packaging because the “primary transmission route is through person-to person contact and through direct contact with respiratory droplets” from coughs and sneezes.
Coronaviruses need an animal or human host to multiply, and food is not a suitable environment for their survival, experts say. Past research has shown that the pathogen can survive on plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours, on copper for up to four hours and on cardboard for up to 24 hours, according to the WHO.
