China Bans Import Of Seafood From India Due To COVID-19 Infection

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JAKARTA - China has banned imports of seafood products from India after a COVID-19 infection was found on the outer packaging of several samples of frozen cuttlefish, according to a report by the state-run China Global Times daily.

Reported by Antara, Saturday, November 14, the General Administration of Customs of China said the suspension of imports would last at least one week from Friday, November 13.

COVID-19 infection was also found on the packaging of a batch of imported frozen beef in the Liangshan area in eastern China's Shandong Province. The beef comes from another city in China.

Over the past two days, China reported at least three additional cases of COVID-19 in imported frozen food products.

The virus was detected on imported pork and beef packaging recently.

A Customs General Administration official said China would increasingly inspect imported frozen food in a bid to prevent the risk of coronavirus infection originating from abroad.

Authorities have communicated with 109 countries that export frozen food products to China regarding safety measures.

It said 140 frozen food producers from 50 countries had been inspected and "22 companies had dealt with non-meeting products".

More than 25 cases of coronavirus have been detected in the frozen food import chain since the first cases were discovered in July, mostly from major frozen food exporting countries including Ecuador, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil and Norway.

According to a statement by China's National Health Commission, the country reported eight new cases of COVID-19 originating from abroad.

China has reported 3,662 cases of infection from abroad, albeit without deaths.

The country has reported a total of 86,307 confirmed cases of COVID-19 including 4,634 deaths since the virus broke out in December.