BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese meat importers and processors have called on exporters in countries with COVID-19 outbreaks to step up checks on shipments before they are sent to the world's biggest market, China's top industry group said.
"China has been importing a large quantity of meats this year, and has detected virus on the packaging of cold chain products many times, even as lots of disinfection has been done domestically," Gao Guan, spokesman for the China Meat Association, said on Tuesday.
It would be better to handle virus control at the point of origins and carry out disinfection at production plants as the cost would be lower and efficiency higher, Gao said.
China has ramped up disinfection and virus testing on frozen food after it found coronavirus on imported products and packaging.
The measures have pushed up costs, disrupted trade, and irritated major exporters.
The semi-official industry body suggested exporters in COVID-19 hit countries should disinfect the outer packaging of products and the inner side of containers before sealing export products, the association said in a weekend statement.
The initiative was proposed to "ensure the safety of imported cold-chain food and boost consumers' confidence in imported cold-chain products," it said.
The proposal came after some exporters, including JBS in Brazil, started to take measures including extensive disinfection of products and storage sites, Gao said.
A source linked to meat exporters in Brazil said the disinfection process started in March, by fumigation. Recently, Brazil received an alert from the Chinese to intensify disinfection, the source said.
JBS said in a statement it implemented new protocols in July including disinfecting storage areas and the inside of containers used for shipping before and after loading.
The World Health Organization has said people should not fear food or food packaging during the pandemic. Chinese officials say there is still a risk of transmission.
Denmark and Spain are among the leading exporters of pork to China with shipments from Germany currently banned following an outbreak of African Swine Fever in September.
"The Danish authorities maintain the dialogue with China about what opportunities there are for exporting to China," Jens Hansen, spokesman for pork exporter Danish Crown, said.
"We are absolutely certain that the authorities are also talking to China about this issue. If it is a desire from the Chinese side to have shipments disinfected, then we will find a way to get that done."
Reported cases have shown that contact with packaging contaminated with coronavirus could lead to human infection, the Chinese association said.
"The virus is new. We are still accumulating experience when fighting against it," Gao said.
"We should get together and discuss how to use the most scientific, efficient and low-cost way to secure public health, and trade at the same time," Gao added.
(Reporting by Hallie Gu and Shivani Singh, Additional reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen in Copenhagen and Nayara Figueiredo in Sao Paulo; editing by David Evans and Stephen Coates)
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU