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An ice cream maker in China is investigating how traces of COVID-19 found its way into some of its products.
The Tianjin Daquiaodao Food Company recalled more than 4,800 cartons of their chocolate, strawberry and taro flavored ice Friday after samples taken from batches tested positive for the virus.
This recall does not affect the United States, Canada or U.K.
Tianjin Daquiaodao Food Company currently does not face a class action lawsuit related to this ice cream recall, however, Top Class Actions tracks recalls because they sometimes end in class action lawsuits.
The company says they locked down the facility after learning of the contamination and quarantined all of its 1,662 employees, according to the Huffington Post. As of Friday, 700 have tested negative for COVID-19. Test results on the remaining employees are still pending.
The ice cream maker says the infected batch was made from milk and whey powder imported from New Zealand and Ukraine. Out of the 4,836 potentially contaminated cartons, some 2,700 had already been distributed for sale on the Chinese market, according to reporting from Wales Online.
Virologist Dr. Stephen Griffin told Sky News he suspects the COVID-19 contamination came from a worker who was sick with the virus.
“It’s likely this has come from a person, and without knowing the details, I think this is probably a one-off,” he told Sky News, adding “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.”
Griffin suspects traces of the COVID-19 virus were able to survive in the ice cream cartons because it thrives in soluble fats and cold temperatures.
A 2010 study of the SARS coronavirus, a relative of COVID-19, showed it lives for as long as 28 days in conditions as cold as 38 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Chinese government suggests this finding of COVID-19 in ice cream is a result of imported ingredients and has blamed similar incidents on international supply chains.
At least 10 Chinese cities have reported finding traces of COVID-19 on packaging of frozen food imports since November, according to a Fortune report.
China blamed frozen salmon imports for bringing new COVID-19 infections into the country in June and removed the product from store shelves.
The Centers for Disease Control says the risk of getting infected by COVID-19 from eating or handling frozen food is “very low.”
The agency further says no cases of people getting sick from COVID-19 by touching food, its packaging or shopping bags have been reported.
The CDC does acknowledge the issue of COVID-19 infections among food production workers, but reports no evidence the virus is spread to consumers.
A growing list of legal actions are forming in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic centering around consumer and employee protections.
How worried are you about getting COVID-19 from the food you eat? What kinds of measures, of any, do you take to reduce risks? Do you predict a rise in lawsuits relating to food and COVID-19? Let us know in the comments below.
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