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Chinese authorities have found traces of the coronavirus in beef imports from South America. Chinese customs announced yesterday that traces had been discovered on two frozen packages from an Argentine importer, and imports were suspended.
The day before, health authorities in the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the corona pandemic originated at the end of 2019, had also found traces of the Sars-CoV-2 virus in packaging of Brazilian beef, according to state media. Just a few days ago, China identified a pork knuckle imported from Germany as the trigger for a new corona case.
Survived even when frozen
The Taiwanese newspaper “United Daily News” wrote on Saturday that the Chinese disease control agency had announced that viruses could survive in cold conditions and even in the frozen state. The meat from Brazil arrived in China in mid-August and has been frozen ever since, according to the state news agency Xinhua.
Since traces of the virus were first discovered, health authorities have tracked and verified other packages from the same shipment, he said.
Pork knuckle from Germany also with traces of virus
According to state media, traces of the virus were discovered on the packaging of the frozen pork knuckle from Germany. Consequently, the knuckle was imported from Bremen to the city of Tianjin in eastern China, and from there it was shipped to the city of Dezhou. A worker was infected in a cold store in Tianjin.
A spokesperson for the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Julia Klöckner (CDU), said at the time: “Based on current knowledge, it is unlikely that a German pig knuckle is the reason for a crown case in China.”
He referred to the findings of the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, according to which there have been no known corona infections from meat consumption or contact with surfaces. However, such a transmission path cannot be ruled out. (SDA)
