Photo: IC

China Customs announced to suspend imports from Indonesian aquatic product manufacturer PT.PUTRI INDAH for one week, effective from Friday, after novel coronavirus was discovered on one outer packaging sample of frozen ribbon fish of the company.

Cold-chain products and seafood came under the spotlight after several cases of positive COVID-19 results were reported across China, and raised wide concerns over food safety and the risk of virus spread through imported cold-chain food.

A surface sample of imported frozen chicken wings in Longgang, Shenzhen of South China's Guangdong Province, tested positive for the novel coronavirus on August 12. Packaging samples of frozen white shrimps from Ecuador were found positive for COVID-19 in several provinces. 

To tighten surveillance on cold chain and prevent the spread of coronavirus through such food, Chinese cities have been stepping up to improve traceability on the imported cold-chain products. Beijing announced Thursday to establish a traceability system and implement closed-loop management of imported cold food.

East China's Zhejiang Province announced Monday that, for cold-chain food imported after May 1, a traceability source code must be affixed to the outer packaging of the product, in a bid to strengthen traceability of imported cold-chain food, especially those from countries and regions hard-hit by COVID-19.

China's National Health Commission officially released the 7th version of the COVID-19 prevention and control guidelines on Tuesday, which stresses that cold-chain food processing and trading should reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 in the cold chain, which caused a second wave of infection in Beijing and Tianjin.

As of Monday, China has suspended imports from 56 cold-chain food companies from 19 countries where some staff were infected with COVID-19. Forty-one of the companies voluntarily stopped exports to China, China's General Administration of Customs announced on Tuesday.