Can you catch Covid-19 from ice cream? Thousands of boxes test positive as authorities try to track sold units
Health authorities in China are working round the clock after three samples of ice cream tested positive for COVID-19 in the country on Thursday, January 14. Attempts are being made to try and trace the people that might have possibly come into contact with the frozen dessert that was produced by the Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company in the northern Tianjin municipality, about 90 miles south of Beijing. A report by China Daily reported that the ice cream was made using milk powder from Ukraine and whey mist from New Zealand. Tianjin has launched a campaign to shut down cold storage houses related to this brand of ice cream since then. Daqiaodao has said that they produced 4,836 boxes out of which 1,812 have already been distributed in various provinces.
It was also reported that authorities have managed to seal and secure 2,089 boxes. Each box contains six ice cream products, each weighing 450 grams. Most of the 935 boxes entering the local market have not sold out, the company said. The city is now examining a total of 65 boxes that were sold. People who bought the boxes have been asked to report in their health and physical movements; the market regulation authorities too have been notified in the provinces where the ice cream boxes were sent so they can be traced.
Additionally, Daqiaodao's 1,662 employees have been placed under quarantine in the wake of this discovery. All of them underwent nucleic acid testing on Thursday following guidance from the Tianjin Center for Disease control. 700 employees tested negative whereas results for 900 others were not immediately released, Daily News reported. The sales staff at shops that stored the products were also asked to be tested as well as samples from ingredients, stored products, and the surrounding environment were taken by authorities for further testing.
Sky News spoke to Dr. Stephen Griffin, a virologist based at the University of Leeds, and he asserted that there's nothing to fear and that this discovery should not be a cause of "panic". He said, "It's likely this has come from a person, and without knowing the details, I think this is probably a one-off." Dr. Griffin further added, "Of course, 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 potentially down to hygiene at the factory." He also explained the possible reasons why those samples tested positive for Covid-19.
Dr. Griffin said that the cold temperatures that ice creams are generally stored at and the fact that it contains fat could be one of the explanations why the virus managed to survive on the samples that were sent for testing to the municipal center for disease control. He once again suggested that the news should not prompt apprehension. "We probably don't need to panic that every bit of ice cream is suddenly going to be contaminated with coronavirus," he said.