Imported cherries tested positive for COVID-19, can I still eat the imported fruit?

This time of year is the peak sales season for tropical fruits and imported fruits. On the 22nd, the Liangxi District Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province issued a notice stating that on January 21, the Liangxi District Center for Disease Control and Prevention was conducting regular monitoring of imported food and found that the inner surface of an imported cherry was found. The nucleic acid test was positive.

The nucleic acid test on the inner surface of an imported cherry in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province was positive

After investigation, this batch of food basically went to Liangxi District, Huishan District and Binhu in the city district. The local area quickly implemented measures such as epidemiological investigation, nucleic acid sampling, centralized isolation of close contacts, storage of remaining food, and comprehensive environmental disinfection. Currently, 199 environmental, object, and personnel specimens have been collected from Liangxi District, Huishan District, and Binhu District, and the test results are all negative.

The nucleic acid test is positive. Can imported cherries be eaten freely?

As soon as this news came out, many consumers began to worry, can they still eat imported cherries with confidence? What does it mean if imported cherries test positive for nucleic acid? In this regard, Feng Zijian, deputy director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that although many imported goods show positive results in nucleic acid tests, positive nucleic acid results do not necessarily mean they are infectious.

Feng Zijian, Deputy Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention: A positive nucleic acid does not mean it is necessarily contagious. It depends on the amount of contamination and whether the contaminating virus is active. From what we know, the nucleic acid detected in the imported cherries from Wuxi is positive, and the virus load is very low, which does not pose a great risk of infection to consumers.

So far, although we continue to find that various imported goods have tested positive, we have not found ordinary consumers infected by the virus contaminated by such imported goods.

Feng Zijian said that in the past, people engaged in food processing or handling were infected because they were exposed to the virus for a long time and multiple times. For consumers, imported fruits generally do not cause infection and can be eaten with confidence after cleaning. Generally, no special treatment is required, just rinse with clean water. There is also hand hygiene, wash your hands promptly after touching objects, and do not touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with dirty hands.

Experts said that compared with cold chain food, fruits are stored at a higher temperature and the virus will not survive on the surface of the fruit for too long. However, due to the low temperatures in winter, the survival time of viruses on the surfaces of containers and containers will be extended. Therefore, it is even more important to wash hands frequently to prevent the spread of viruses through contact with outer packaging.