BEIJING, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The Chinese language metropolis of Wuhan stated on Friday it had detect
BEIJING, Nov 13 (Reuters) – The Chinese language metropolis of Wuhan stated on Friday it had detected the novel coronavirus on the packaging of a batch of Brazilian beef, because it ramped up testing of frozen meals this week as a part of a nationwide marketing campaign.
The Wuhan Municipal Well being Fee stated in an announcement on its web site it had discovered three optimistic samples on the outer packaging of frozen, boneless beef from Brazil.
The meat had entered the nation at Qingdao port on Aug. 7 and it reached Wuhan on Aug. 17, the place it remained in a chilly storage facility till not too long ago.
The novel coronavirus first emerged within the central Chinese language metropolis late final 12 months, at a market, and has gone on to unfold around the globe.
The meat cargo’s exporter license plate was 2015, the fee stated, which refers to a plant owned by Marfrig World Meals S.A. MRFG3.SA, in keeping with a Reuters search.
Marfrig couldn’t instantly be reached for remark.
Greater than 100 workers on the Wuhan facility had undergone checks, it stated, and 200 environmental samples had been taken.
After taking drastic measures to manage the unfold of the virus within the inhabitants this 12 months, China started in late June to check imported meals for the virus too.
By September, it had solely discovered 22 optimistic samples out of just about three million however with some port employees not too long ago found to be contaminated with the virus, it stepped up testing and disinfection of meals imports this week.
Chinese language authorities additionally discovered the coronavirus on the packaging of Argentinian beef this week, and one other imported beef pattern was discovered to be optimistic in Shandong, that province stated on Friday.
China is the world’s prime beef purchaser and Brazil and Argentina its largest suppliers.
(Reporting by Dominique Patton Enhancing by Robert Birsel)
(([email protected];))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the creator and don’t essentially replicate these of Nasdaq, Inc.