China to step up inspections of cold-chain products

BEIJING -- China will step up inspections of imported frozen products to prevent the spread of COVID-19 via cold chains, an official with the General Administration of Customs said on Thursday.

Overseas food exporters should strictly follow the regulatory guidelines issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization to ensure their exports to China are not contaminated by the coronavirus during production, processing, storage or transportation, GAC spokesperson Li Kuiwen told a press conference.

So far, China has suspended imports from 124 cold-chain food manufacturers across 21 countries where employees have been infected with COVID-19. Among them, 107 companies voluntarily suspended exports to China following outbreaks, Li said.

China will also strengthen its testing of imported cold-chain foods, particularly imported seafood, he said.

By Wednesday, approximately 1.3 million cold-chain products had been sampled for nucleic acid testing, with 47 tested positive, Li added.