Ice cream tests positive for COVID-19, people asked to quarantine in China

Tests discovered three samples of locally produced ice cream were found to be contaminated in the Tianjin municipality, in the north-east of the country.

Team Newsable

Tianjin, First Published Jan 17, 2021, 11:05 AM IST | Last Updated Jan 17, 2021, 11:05 AM IST

Tianjin, China: Traces of coronavirus have been detected in ice cream samples in north China, prompting authorities to seize thousands of potentially contaminated products.

Tests discovered three samples of locally produced ice cream were found to be contaminated in the Tianjin municipality, in the north-east of the country.

The company had produced a total of 4,836 boxes, of which 1,812 had been sold to various provinces. As many as 2,089 have now been sealed up and secured, according to China Daily.

According to a report by Sky News, anti-epidemic authorities in Tianjin Municipality are now tracing people to identify those who have come into contact with the batches that were manufactured by Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company in order to quarantine them.

The company's 1,662 employees are now in quarantine, out of which 700 have tested negative for the viral infection.

Each box contained six ice cream products which were made using milk powder from Ukraine and whey powder from New Zealand.

A health expert has said that there is no reason for concern and that it is likely that the infection came from a person.

This is not the first time China claimed that coronavirus had been detected in food samples.

In November 2020, Chinese officials claimed that traces of Covid-19 were found on cold-chain imports from different countries, including India. Two Indian frozen butterfish packages, one Russian frozen salmon packaging sample and two Argentina frozen beef samples tested positive for Covid-19, the report said. Chinese officials said coronavirus traces were found on packages from 20 countries.

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