China says frozen chicken wings from Brazil positive for coronavirus

The Chinese city of Shenzhen government said Thursday a sample of frozen chicken wings from Brazil tested positive for coronavirus.

The local disease control centers took samples from the surface of the frozen chicken wings from Brazil. They have been conducting routine screenings on imported seafood and meat products since a new outbreak in Beijing was linked to Shenzhen’s Xinfadi seafood market in June.

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Shenzhen’s health authorities conducted contact tracing and testing on everyone who might have come into contact with potentially contaminated food products. They also tested all products stored near the products infected with the coronavirus. The notice said all tested negative for the virus.

The embassy of Brazil in Beijing has yet to respond to the incident.

The Shenzhen Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters advised the public needed to remain cautious when it comes to buying and eating imported meat and seafood.

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Earlier, Chinese authorities allegedly found the novel  on the packaging of imported frozen seafood from the port of Dalian City, which recently had an outbreak.

The virus was allegedly found on the outer packaging of frozen seafood sold by three companies in Yantai, a port city in eastern Shandong province.

Also read: G4 swine flu in China very low risk – BAI

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China says frozen chicken wings from Brazil positive for coronavirus

In a statement, the Yantai local government said the seafood was an imported shipment that arrived in Dalian but could not tell where it came from.

Last July, customs officers in Dalian, a major port in the northeastern province of Liaoning, announced that they had found a coronavirus on the packaging of frozen shrimps imported from Ecuador.

China subsequently suspended imports of three Ecuadorean shrimp producers.

According to the Yantai local government, some of the seafood sold by the three companies has already been processed for export, while others remain in cold storage.

However, a staff member of Yantai’s coronavirus outbreak response unit did not say whether the processed seafood was released.

It is said that the staff who handled the contaminated seafood were subjected to quarantine, and they were also negative in the coronavirus test.

The latest outbreak of coronavirus in Dalian city allegedly took place in July, and the first case was working for a seafood processing company.