In a significant development, deadly coronavirus was found in some samples of ice cream produced in the eastern Chinese region.
In a significant development, deadly coronavirus was found in some samples of ice cream produced in the eastern Chinese region, forcing the authorities to recall and seize the potentially contaminated products.
According to the Chinese government, nearly 29,000 cartons in the batch were yet to be sold and 390 carton which were sold in Tianjin were being tracked down. The government added that authorities elsewhere were notified of sales to their areas.
The Daqiaodao Food Co Ltd, situated in Tianjin, near Beijing, was sealed and its employees were being tested for the coronavirus. There was no indication that anyone had contracted the virus from the ice cream, said the local authorities.
"The coronavirus survived in ice cream because of the cold temperature. The authorities believe the virus reached the ice cream through an infected person. The ingredients included New Zealand milk powder and whey powder from Ukraine," said the Chinese government.
The company has a total strength of 1600 employees out of which 700 employees have tested negative and the test reports of the remaining 900 employees are yet to be confirmed.
The Chinese Ministry for Primary Industries said it was not aware of any evidence that New Zealand milk powder was the source of Covid-19. "In many instances, reports of SARS-CoV-2 detected on food or food packaging are not specific as to how the virus was identified, what amount of virus was found, and whether the virus was viable and infectious," the ministry said.
Since the Coronavirus outbreak, there have been several incidents when COVID-19 contaminated food were found in China. However, Dr. Stephen Griffin, a virologist based at the University of Leeds, told Sky News that, "It's likely this has come from a person, and without knowing the details, I think this is probably a one-off,"
he further added saying "Of course, any level of contamination is not acceptable and always a cause for concern, but the chances are that this is the result of an issue with the production plant and potentially down to hygiene at the factory."
"We probably don't need to panic that every bit of ice cream is suddenly going to be contaminated with coronavirus," added Griffin.
How did the coronavirus survive on ice-cream?
Well, the experts have a different outlook to this incident as they say the cold temperature, combined with the fat content of the ice cream, could be blamed for the virus' "survival" in the samples.
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