Frozen beef packaging fails COVID-19 tests

Packaging of frozen beef from Argentina stored at a cold-storage logistics company in Shanghai has tested positive for COVID-19 and has been sealed, Shanghai authorities said on Friday.

Staff who had contact with the imported beef have been screened and quarantined. The venue has been disinfected.

As of 6pm on Friday, 458 people had been tested twice and all results were negative, authorities said. 

The announcement came after packaging of the same batch of beef tested positive in Nanjing of neighboring Jiangsu Province on Tuesday.

The beef is stored at Shanghai Wanshen Cold-storage Logistics Co Ltd and none has reached shelves in Shanghai, officials said.

A total of 100 food samples and 100 environmental samples were tested; none was found to be contaminated, they said.

The Shanghai Administration for Market Regulation said it has strengthened testing on cold-storage foods, particularly targeting big agricultural markets, supermarkets, cold-storage venues and imported poultry, pork and beef, and aquatic products.

An emergency mechanism has been in place for imported frozen food such as frozen beef from Argentina, frozen shrimps from Ecuador, and frozen fish from Indonesia to ensure safety, the administration said.

As of Monday, 106,524 samples of cold-storage food and relevant environment had been collected at 1,854 key venues in the city and all had tested negative for the virus, it said.