Recently, the outer packaging of imported
cold-chain food has been tested positive for the new coronavirus nucleic acid in
many places in China. What is the reason? Can consumers rest assured to buy and
eat these foods? Yesterday, at a press conference held by the Joint Prevention
and Control Mechanism of the State Council, Li Ning, deputy director of the
National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center, stated that the positive rate of
new coronavirus nucleic acid detected in cold chain food and its outer
packaging is generally low. The positive rate was 0.48 per 10,000, and the main
cause was contamination of food packaging. Consumers have a very low risk of
infection through general contact.
The positive rate of cold chain food and its outer packaging is low
Recently, many places in China have been tested positive for the new coronavirus nucleic acid in imported cold chain food and its outer packaging. Talking about the reasons, Li Ning, deputy director of the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center, said that on the one hand, it is because many countries abroad are currently in the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia, and the surfaces of various objects, including food and their outer packaging, may be contaminated by the new crown virus. , And the new crown virus survives for a long time at low temperatures, imported cold chain food and its outer packaging may become carriers for cross-border long-distance transportation to carry the new crown virus; on the other hand, various departments and localities have recently increased the import of cold chain food and The new coronavirus nucleic acid detection and sampling of its outer packaging, as the frequency, frequency and coverage of the detection increase, the probability of finding a positive is also increasing.
She pointed out that the positive rate of new coronavirus nucleic acid detected in China's cold chain food and its outer packaging is generally low. Up to now, the positive rate of national sampling and monitoring is 0.48 per 10,000, and it is mainly due to contamination of food outer packaging. This shows from another aspect that the measures taken by our country in strengthening physical defense are very effective, detecting problems in time and dealing with them, thus reducing the risk of the spread of the new coronavirus.
No infection has been found due to direct consumption of cold chain food
Can cold chain food be eaten directly after disinfection? In this regard, Zhang Liubo, chief expert in disinfection at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that until now, infections related to low-temperature cold-chain foods have mainly occurred in the circulation links such as transportation, and no infections caused by direct consumption of these cold-chain foods have been found. Therefore, in this case, the risk of virus transmission is relatively low, and it is recommended that you do not be too anxious. In addition, the surface of frozen food packaging in China must be disinfected. After disinfection, it is safe for people to touch these surfaces. He emphasized that disinfection is to inactivate viruses, but does not damage nucleic acids. Therefore, after the virus is inactivated, it may still be positive in the nucleic acid test. When people encounter the sterilized cold chain food packaging that is positive for nucleic acid, don't be overly nervous. He suggested that when purchasing overseas shopping products from informal channels, they must do a good job of protection and disinfection of the packaging surface.
"From the epidemiological traceability analysis, the infected population is a high-risk population who repeatedly contacts the outer packaging of imported cold chain food in a specific environment, such as porters." Li Ning, deputy director of the National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, said that the consumer experience In contact with cold chain food and its outer packaging, the risk of infection is very low.