China has called on importers to shun frozen food from countries suffering from severe coronavirus outbreaks after several cases of imported seafood products testing positive for the virus.
'Customs and local governments have repeatedly detected the coronavirus in imported cold chain food, proving it risks contamination,' the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau said on Monday in a statement issued to import companies.
The bureau urged them to closely monitor the overseas pandemic situation and 'proactively avoid importing cold chain food from areas heavily hit by the coronavirus' and make alternative plans for imports.
China has called on importers to shun frozen food from countries suffering from severe coronavirus outbreaks after several cases of imported seafood products testing positive for the virus.
The file photo shows a woman looking at frozen food products in Beijing
China had reported no local infections of the coronavirus for more than a month but recently detected it on the packaging of imported aquatic products in Jilin province and Qingdao city.
The picture taken on June 16 shows frozen seafood products at a supermarket in Beijing
China had reported no local infections of the coronavirus for more than a month but recently detected it on the packaging of imported aquatic products in Jilin province and Qingdao city.
Last week, Qingdao, a major port city in east China, scrambled to quarantine over 300 residents after two handlers working for a seafood importer tested positive for the coronavirus, sparking fears of a looming new COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
China has stepped up checks on frozen food imports, despite the World Health Organization had said it saw no evidence of COVID-19 being spread by food or packaging.
It has previously banned imports of products including frozen meat, Ecuadorian shrimps and Brazilian chicken wings following positive tests.
In this file photo, a worker of Nanming district's Center for Disease Control and Prevention collects a swab from frozen fish at Wandong market in Guiyang, Guizhou province on July 1