China backs down on Coronavirus in salmon and retail resumes sales

A week after linking the new coronavirus outbreak in Beijing with salmon, China's health officials stepped back and agreed with global experts that it is "unlikely that the food trade will be responsible." As Infomoney reports, "no food restrictions will be imposed," Song Yueqian, a customs administration official, said at a press conference on Friday.

"There is no evidence of digestive system infection through consumption of food, including seafood," Feng Luzhao, a researcher at the China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at the same conference.

The text also indicates that China's new posture should reduce the inspection of imported food, which would be a relief for seafood exporters, whose sales to China had already fallen by more than 30% in the first four months of the year, before of Beijing identify a new focus of Covid-19 cases this month.

After the new infections were identified, the customs department said it had tested a total of 47,812 samples of imported seafood, meat, vegetables and fruits, as well as packaging and cold rooms, all with negative results for the coronavirus.

The tests were carried out between 11 and 18 June.

With this, Chinese wholesalers and supermarkets are already resuming the sale of salmon, according to Undercurrent News. In some locations, products have been given a label indicating that they have been re-inspected and cleared by Chinese customs.