Three samples of ice cream from a Chinese company tested positive for COVID-19, and thousands of boxes of dessert were confiscated as a result.
THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE SAYS RESEARCHERS AT WUHAN LAB MAY HAVE COVENS IN THE AUTUMN OF 2019
The contaminated ice cream caused Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company to dump 2,089 boxes of the product, although officials believe more than twice as much – 4,836 boxes – have been contaminated, Sky News reported.
More than half of the total boxes had already been distributed for sale when positive tests were discovered. Market regulators in other provinces outside Tianjin, where the ice cream was shipped, have been notified of the problem, and customers who may have purchased the product are being instructed to report their health to community authorities.
According to the report, 1,662 employees were tested at the company on Thursday and are in quarantine.
THE SILENCE OF CHINA ABOUT THE PANDEMIC OF CORONAVIRUS LEFT THE WORLD BEING BLIND, ‘AZAR SAYS
Authorities believe that the coronavirus managed to survive in the ice cream due to the cold temperature and was probably transferred from a person with the disease.
Dr. Stephen Griffin, a virologist at the University of Leeds, told Sky News that the contamination case was probably “unique” and not indicative of a wider problem with the plant itself.
“Of course, any level of contamination is not acceptable and is always a cause for concern, but chances are this is the result of a problem with the production plant and potentially due to hygiene at the factory,” said Griffin.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
Initial epidemiological investigations revealed that Tianjin produced the batch of ice cream with raw materials, including powdered milk imported from New Zealand and powdered whey imported from Ukraine.