Coronavirus found on ice cream samples in China prompts massive recall

Those who are in the eastern part of China may have to wait a while before they can enjoy ice cream once more as a recall was made by the government after coronavirus was found on ice cream samples.

In a surprising turn of events, the Chinese government announced that virus specimens were found on ice cream produced by a manufacturer in eastern China. The producer concerned was Daqiaodao Food Co., Ltd. in Tianjin, which is adjacent to Beijing.

The company factory was immediately sealed off and its 1,662 employees were then placed under quarantine and had to undergo coronavirus testing, particularly using nucleic acid testing.

According to Xinhua, which is an official state-run press agency, in a Jan. 14 report, 700 of the employees tested negative for COVID-19, and the results of the 962 employees were still unknown. Authorities have already taken the necessary steps to quarantine close contacts, disinfect the environment, and to trace the ice cream that was already sold.

The preliminary epidemiological investigations revealed that the raw materials that the company used in the contaminated batch of ice cream included whey powder that was imported from Ukraine and milk powder, which came from New Zealand.

NDTV reported that Dr. Stephen Griffin, a virologist, revealed that the Tianjin ice-cream case may be a one-off case. Anti-epidemic authorities also ensured that the products that came from the firm were all sealed.

"It's likely this has come from a person, and without knowing the details, I think this is probably a one-off," said Dr Griffin in a statement to Sky News.

In October last year, there was also coronavirus samples that was discovered on the packaging of frozen food in the port city of Qingdao, China. Health authorities confirmed this and revealed that the virus was found on the outer packaging of frozen marine fish, which was imported. There was no mention though from which country the frozen fish came from.

In July, still in China, health authorities also suspended the importation of frozen shrimp. They detected coronavirus on the packages and also on the inner walls of the containers. Interestingly in August, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that people should not fear food or food packaging.