But what can the coronavirus not resist? Although borders are closed to people in many countries, foodstuffs continue to be exchanged around the world because they did not present any particular risk until now. But new information from China is questioning. On Thursday, the authorities announced that they had discovered the virus, during a routine check, on chicken imported from Brazil.
Negative tests on exposed people
The coronavirus was present on samples of frozen chicken wings taken on Tuesday, said the city hall of Shenzhen, a megalopolis on the outskirts of Hong Kong. The authorities claim to have "immediately" screened people who have been in contact with contaminated products, as well as their relatives. These tests all came back negative.
This is not the first such discovery in China. The city of Wuhu on Thursday also announced the presence of the virus on packages of shrimp from Ecuador. These packages were kept in the freezer of a restaurant in town. This is the second time since early July that China has reported the presence of the virus on packages of Ecuadorian shrimp.
In June, the huge Xinfadi wholesale market in Beijing was also closed after the appearance of an epidemic outbreak affecting several hundred people. Traces of virus had been detected there on a cutting board of imported salmon.
A blow for the world's leading chicken producer
However, Covid-19 is a respiratory disease and nothing suggests for the time that it can be transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated products. However, experts do not understand the reasons for these contaminations, no doubt linked to the cold and ventilation conditions specific to production plants.
The Shenzhen city hall announcement will not help the affairs of the world's largest chicken producer. Brazil could experience a further fall in its turnover on this product in China. In February 2019, Beijing imposed heavy anti-dumping duties on Brazilian chicken for five years, taxed between 17.8% and 32.4%.
Brazil was still in 2017 the leading supplier of frozen chicken to China, with an annual value approaching one billion dollars and representing nearly 85% of the Asian giant's imports. It has since lost market share to Thailand, Argentina and Chile.
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