Guard against cold chain food infections

An increasing number of novel coronavirus infections linked to imported cold chain products and their packaging have been reported recently in not only coastal port cities, but also in inland provinces such as Shanxi, Henan and Anhui.

In one of the latest cases, packaging samples from a batch of frozen chicken wings imported from Russia tested positive for the virus in Henan's Zhongmou on Saturday.

Although the World Health Organization says the risk of catching COVID-19 from frozen products is low, it is evidently possible. Chinese researchers and medical workers have already traced the source of a cluster of new infections in Tianjin and Qingdao to cold chain imports, prompting authorities to launch broad inspections and testing of food shipments from overseas.