Fish cannot be infected with coronavirus, but it may be contaminated.
The official state-run press agency Zinhuanet writes that Chinese authorities addressed salmon coronavirus concerns in a press conference on Tuesday.
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (China CDC) National Health And Health Commission expert Shi Guoqing said that there is no evidence that salmon is the new coronavirus host or intermediate host.
Last month the discovery of coronavirus on a chopping board for imported salmon in Beijing led to the widespread removal of fish in supermarkets whilst putting huge pressure on exporters.
Li Fengqin, director of the Microbiology Laboratory of the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, said that food will not be infected with the new coronavirus, but may be contaminated by the virus.
“After the virus contaminates food or food packaging materials, it can survive at room temperature for a relatively short period of time. But at low temperatures, the virus lives longer. Therefore, do not exclude low temperature refrigeration food and food packaging materials, can be used as a carrier of the virus,” added Fengqin.
