Imported Chicken Wings Test Positive For Coronavirus
(CNN) — A sample of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil has tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, authorities said Thursday, the latest in a series of reports of contaminated imported food products.
The coronavirus was detected Wednesday on a surface sample taken from a batch of chicken wings during screening of imported frozen food in Longgang district of Shenzhen, the municipal government said in a statement. Officials did not name the brand.
Shenzhen health authorities immediately traced and tested people who might have come into contact with the product, and all results came back negative; all related products in stock have been sealed off and tested negative, the statement said.
Authorities are now tracing related products from the same brand that have already been sold, and have disinfected the area where the contaminated chicken wings were stored.
The contaminated chicken wings made news just one day after coronavirus was found on packaging of shrimp imported from Ecuador at a restaurant in China’s eastern Anhui province during a routine inspection, CNN noted.
However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said it is “highly unlikely” for to contract the virus from food or food packaging.
"There is no evidence to date of viruses that cause respiratory illnesses being transmitted via food or food packaging. Coronaviruses cannot multiply in food; they need an animal or human host to multiply," the WHO previously said.
CNN noted that while it is possible to catch the virus by touching surfaces or objects like food packaging and then touching your mouth or nose, it is not the main method of coronavirus transmission, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This is a good reminder to buy local when possible and know where your food is coming from!