Food safety at CIIE guaranteed by watchdog
Workers carry out disinfection at a warehouse storing imported cold-storage foods to be exhibited at the third CIIE.
An official with the Pudong New Area market watchdog seals a truck carrying imported food after it was disinfected on Friday afternoon.
A worker is ready to move goods in the cold-storage area.
Shanghai's market watchdog is in full swing to guarantee food safety at the upcoming China International Import Expo with procedures in place to ensure that imported cold-storage foods are not contaminated all the way.
At a refrigerated warehouse close to the Pudong International Airport, imported food for exhibit at the expo includes sausages, meatballs, beef, ice cream and salmon.
All imported cold-storage food must be checked before being stored after undergoing customs procedures, according to the Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation.
Vehicles transporting the food will be disinfected and the food is transported directly to the venue, the administration said.
A staffer works inside the warehouse storing imported cold-storage food for exhibition at the third CIIE.
Imported goods wait to be checked for novelcoronavirus.
At 2:36pm on Friday, a truck carrying imported ice cream was stopped outside the refrigeration storage warehouse, and workers carried out a thorough disinfection. The driver was asked to wash his hand and show his health code, work license and a code showing his movements before he was allowed to drive into the warehouse.
After the truck was guided to a designated place for unloading, workers disinfected the goods and the inside of the vehicle.
The goods were then sent to cold storage at 18 degrees Celsius below zero for tests.
"Staff from the Pudong New Area Center for Disease Control and Prevention will conduct nucleic acid tests on the goods," said Tan Daya, who is responsible for cold-storage operations at the warehouse.
"They will be sent to an exclusive storage venue for the expo only after they test negative for coronavirus," he said.
A worker disinfects pallets at the warehouse.
The warehouse has three cold-storage areas which can hold about 1,500 tons of goods in total.
“A stable low temperature is key to stamp out food safety hazards," said Tan.
"To ensure food safety, the warehouse uses carbon dioxide secondary refrigerant, which is not commonly used at big cold storages in China, to accurately keep the temperature at 18 to 20 degrees below zero," he said.
"The doors to the cold-storage areas are closed when there are no goods being moved to prevent air contact, which can lead to temperatures rising," said Tan.
Free tastings of imported cold-storage food such as salmon and tuna will be prohibited during the expo, and catering businesses and hotels serving the CIIE are recommended to use domestic cold-chain foods, said the market regulator’s Zhang Zhunmin.
Staff training has been held, and authorities have been conducting checks on cold-chain foods at city supermarkets for months, he said.
"We are confident of guaranteeing food safety during the third CIIE," said Zhang.
A worker checks the temperature at the warehouse storing imported cold-storage food.
Goods to be exhibited at the third CIIE stored at the warehouse
Meanwhile, Shanghai-based Bright Dairy is also fully prepared for the expo. Its subsidiary, Speed Fresh Logistics, is expected to deliver products to the expo venues 200 times between Saturday and November 12 to supply 350,000 meals, weighing about 280 tons, to expo workers.
The 30 vehicles involved will be cleaned and disinfected; records will be kept so that the entire transport process can be tracked.
The logistics company served the previous two expos and has upgraded its center that can monitor delivery vehicles in real time.
There will be five vehicles for use in case of emergencies and they can arrive within seven minutes.
The control center of Speed Fresh Logistics can monitor delivery vehicles in real time.
Speed Fresh Logistics has prepared 30 vehicles to supply food to the upcoming CIIE.
"We will conduct on-the-spot drills to ensure drivers are familiar with the routes," said Xu Hongfeng, director of the company’s Shanghai branch.
In case of breakdowns, staff at the center are immediately aware of the problem and location of the vehicles via surveillance footage.
High-temperature and high-pressure steam cleaners will be used for the first time to disinfect and clean delivery vehicles.
Relevant staff are required to take nucleic acid tests every seven days.
