It is not our beef, says PM after 'Covid-19' found on products in China

Monday, 16 November 2020

New Zealand beef exports were stored with products from Argentina which tested positive for Covid-19 in China, says Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she has been advised that New Zealand beef exports were stored with products from Argentina, which tested positive for Covid-19 in China.

Reuters reported that, over the weekend, the Chinese city of Jinan found coronavirus on beef and tripe and the products’ packaging from Brazil, Bolivia and New Zealand, while two other provincial capitals detected it on packaging on pork from Argentina.

Ardern said she had not been advised by Chinese authorities but was determined to “get to the bottom of this” on Monday.

“We were advised that some New Zealand products were in the same coolstore as where those positive tests were returned. We were not advised that New Zealand products themselves had tested positive for Covid-19 – that is the reason we are currently seeking further information on what had been reported in the media,” she said.

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Reuters reported that, over the weekend, the Chinese city of Jinan found coronavirus on beef and tripe and the products’ packaging from Brazil, Bolivia and New Zealand.

“This is incredibly important to New Zealand. We are confident our products are not exported with Covid on them, given our status as being essentially Covid-19 free.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said New Zealand had not been officially informed about a coronavirus detection by Chinese authorities.

“New Zealand officials are working now to ascertain the origin and veracity of these reports,” a ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

New Zealand exported $3.173 billion of meat and edible meat offal to China in the year ended September, accounting for 38 per cent of total meat exports and making it the country’s largest meat export market, according to Stats NZ.

Sirma Karapeeva, chief executive of the New Zealand Meat Industry Association, said: “We are aware of the reports from China about the outer packaging of some imported frozen beef being found to have traces of genetic material from Covid-19 and are awaiting further information from Chinese authorities.

“The risk of Covid-19 transmission by food or food packaging is negligible,” she said. “Advice from the World Health Organisation is that transmission by airborne droplets and aerosols is the dominant pathway for Covid-19 infection.”

The Reuters report said China has been ramping up testing on frozen foods after repeatedly detecting the virus on imported products, triggering disruptive import bans, even as the World Health Organisation says the risk of catching Covid-19 from frozen food is low.

New Zealand Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva says exporters are concerned the quota split would erode the quality and quantity of New Zealand’s market access into those high value markets.

In Jinan, capital of eastern China’s Shandong province, the goods involved were imported by a unit of Guotai International Group and Shanghai Zhongli Development Trade, the city’s municipal health commission said on Saturday, the report said.

They entered through ports in Shanghai, it said, without naming the companies that shipped the products to China. More than 7500 people who may have been exposed tested negative for coronavirus, according to the report.

Karapeeva said the meat industry in New Zealand was closely watching and reviewing international developments about transmission and taking advice from the Ministry for Primary Industries and experts at the New Zealand Food Safety Science Research Centre about how it responded to these emerging risks as knowledge about the virus grew.

“The red meat processing sector is committed to protecting our people and doing everything we can to prevent the spread of Covid-19,” she said.

“Since the early days of the response to Covid-19, the industry has been working to strict protocols that were developed with the Ministry for Primary Industries and provides guidance and a minimum standard for processors for operating.

“The protocol, which is consistent with other industries and guidance from the World Health Organisation, means we have a robust first line of defence against the transmission of the virus.

“Under the protocol, employees are observing physical distancing, and in situations where this is not practicable, extra controls are put in place, including personal protective equipment. Employees are undergoing temperature checks.

“Companies are also recording who is working at the site and in which team or bubble. This is to facilitate easier tracking and tracing to enable a quick response in the event of a Covid-19 positive case, so we can help keep our people, their families and communities safe. Contact surfaces are also being disinfected regularly.”