The Switzerland-based World Health Organization on Thursday reiterated its previous stance that there was “no evidence” to suggest the novel coronavirus can be passed along through food.
"There is no evidence that food or the food chain is participating in transmission of this virus," WHO Health Emergencies Program Executive Director Mike Ryan said during a press conference.
"I think people are already scared enough, fearful enough, in the pandemic. It's important that we track findings like this. And it's important that we don't discount scientific evidence where we find it, but it's also important that people can go about their daily lives without fear. People should not fear food or food packaging or processing or delivery of food. Food is very important."
The WHO posted the same information on its website on May 15, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention repeated the assertion on its website on June 25.
But questions were raised again after routine inspections of imported food in three Chinese cities detected the virus in four days, NBC News reported.
The virus was found Tuesday on frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil at a market in Shenzhen, on frozen shrimp from Ecuador in Xian on Wednesday, and on unspecified seafood Monday in Yantai from a ship of undetermined origin, the South China Morning Post and NBC News said.
“I would hate to think that we would create an impression that there’s a problem with our food or there’s a problem with our food chain,” Ryan said. “We’re under enough pressure as it is.”
According to WHO officials, Chinese authorities have tested a “few hundred thousand” samples of frozen food and discovered “very, very few” positives.
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