It's been more than a year since the first case of Coronavirus came to light, gradually throwing off the normal lives across the world with its widespread impact. Just now, we all had just started seeking relief with the launch of vaccination drives, but daily new scientific revelations regarding the virus still astonish us. Till now, we were blissfully ignorant about whether the virus spreads through food or not; the latest reports of Coronavirus being found on ice creams have brought back our initial fears.
UK-based Sky News reported that some ice cream samples tested positive for Coronavirus in north China's Tianjin city. The samples produced by Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company were sent to the disease control last week and came back testing positive for COVID-19.
According to the report, Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company produced 4,836 boxes of the contaminated ice cream and 2,089 of those were stored away. The other 2,747 boxes entered the market, and only 65 boxes were sold in Tianjin so far.
Anti-epidemic authorities ensured all the products by the firm were sealed and contact tracing is now on. The investigations revealed that the batch of ice cream was produced with raw milk powder from New Zealand and whey powder was imported from Ukraine. All 1662 employees of Tianjin Daqiaodao were placed under quarantine.
(Also Read: To Eat Or Not To Eat: The Importance Of Food Safety In Post Covid-19 World)
Ice creams are stored at very low temperatures.
Is it Safe To Consume Cold Foods Like Ice Cream?
Dr Stephen Griffin, a virologist based at the University of Leeds, told Sky News,
"It's likely this virus came from a person, and without knowing all details, I think this is probably a one-off case. Agreed, any level of contamination is not acceptable and always a cause for concern, but the chances are that this is the result of an issue with the production plant and compromise in hygiene at the factory."
He explained the virus might have survived on the ice cream due to its high-fat content and also because of the cold temperature that the ice cream was stored at. "We probably don't need to panic that every ice cream is suddenly going to be contaminated with coronavirus," he added.
In another report issued by World Health Organization (WHO) last year in 2020, experts clarified that the chances of transmission of the virus through food or food packaging were very low, claiming there have been no strong evidence against it. Click here to read the full report.
(This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.)