East China city finds coronavirus on imported frozen food

The eastern Chinese city of Huzhou found an imported frozen food packaging sample that tested positive for the novel coronavirus, local authorities said on Saturday.

It was taken from a batch of frozen beef neck bones imported from Argentina as part of regular screening in a farm produce trading center in the city, said the municipal government.

Local authorities have sealed the batch of frozen food, disinfected the trading center and the storage facility, and quarantined those linked with the goods and their close contacts.

Huzhou authorities have so far conducted nucleic acid tests on 40 relevant people and collected 130 environmental and food samples. All results tested negative.

China has stepped up efforts to block COVID-19 from spreading through imported foods. The Ministry of Transport released a guideline in November to prevent the transmission of the virus through imported cold-chain foods in road and water transportation.

The State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19 has also unveiled a plan to realize full-chain, closed-loop, traceable management of imported cold-chain foods.