The Chinese authorities reported that the new outbreak in a Beijing market originated on a board that was used to cut imported salmon, but the Salmon Council dismissed the assertion.
The main salmon exporting companies of Chile responded on Monday to the accusations of the Government of China, which alleged that the new coronavirus outbreak that had infected approximately 50 people last weekend was related to salmon distributed in the Xinfadi Market, the most important market in Beijing.
“There is no evidence connecting the COVID-19 outbreak in Beijing last week to salmon. We are aware of what has been reported by the media, however, there is no official information on the origin of the coronavirus contamination, apart from unverified comments that the virus was related to a cutting board used to prepare salmon in the affected wholesale market,” said the Salmon Council in a public statement.
Salmon Industry Dismisses Claim that the Product is Related to a New Outbreak of COVID-19 in China
The response comes after the closure of the Xinfadi Market, following confirmation of six new local infections in the compound on Saturday, as well as 45 asymptomatic cases.
Chinese health officials reported that the virus was found on an imported salmon cutting board which was used by a vendor.
The event caused great concern in the Asian country, which closed some schools and increased health measures to prevent a recurrence of COVID-19.
“The companies of the Council strictly follow all health authority recommendations to protect their employees. So far there have been no cases of COVID-19 in our processing plants. All of our companies operate using the highest standards of food safety in our processes in order to protect our customers when they consume salmon,” said the Council’s statement.
Source: Agencia uno and t13.cl
