China suspends imports for a week from company.
China’s General Customs Administration has slapped a week’s suspension on imports from a Chilean seafood company on Saturday after finding traces of coronavirus in the outer packaging of a sample of frozen spider crabs.
The company, Pesquera Isla del Rey, is known for its crabs but also says it produces salmon. It is half-owned by Empresas Reutter, which in turn owns seafood exporter Cisandina.
In a statement, Chilean fishing and aquaculture authority Sernapesca said that the container was sealed and hadn’t been opened until its arrival in China. The facility did report two positive cases in November, but that was outside of work, added the authority.
Sernapesca said that it sent this information to Chinese authorities in the hope the suspension would be lifted by next Saturday.
Alicia Gallardo, National Director of Sernapesca told MSN that this was the first time that China had detected the virus in the “packaging of a fishing facility in Chile”.
On the suspension. Gallardo added that China “is within its right because they are trying to detect possible sources of contagion. We have been very well connected to them technically and the embassy helps us a lot.”
