Food safety regulatory agencies have reportedly found trace amounts of the African swine fever virus in frozen pork dumplings currently being sold in China. The food item in question has already been withdrawn from sale on several online stores following the reports issued by the regulatory agencies.
According to local media reports, the contaminated frozen pork dumplings were made by Sanquan foods, a food manufacturing firm based in Henan province. The discovery was made by a regulatory authority based in Hunan province in the Xianxi prefecture. The agency reportedly tested three samples of the frozen pork dumplings and found that all contained trace amounts of the virus. The samples were taken from a subsidiary of Sanquan foods based in Henan province, which also produces the dumplings for distribution within the area.
Food safety authorities have reportedly found trace amounts of the virus in other pork products coming from different food manufacturers in northwest China. The agencies have not yet released their findings until further tests are conducted. China is currently in the middle of a nationwide epidemic that has greatly affected the country's pork industry. Since last year, over 1 million pigs have died because of the virus. Some of them were deliberately killed and disposed of in an attempt to contain the virus and stop it from spreading any further.
The African swine fever virus is very lethal to pigs and those that are infected have a very slim chance of survival. Fortunately, the virus itself is not harmful to human. The only concern, however, is that food contaminated with the virus may eventually end up as food waste used to feed pigs, which will increase the likelihood of the virus spreading to other areas around the country.
In an attempt to control the virus from spreading in this manner, authorities have recently banned the use of food waste as pig feed. While larger farms have followed the new rules, smaller farms are more difficult to control. The virus has so far spread to more than 20 provinces across China. Some pig farmers are still selling and transporting infected pigs across the country, despite the heavy government clampdown.
In response to the latest findings, Sanquan Foods has released a statement mentioning that they are already aware of the test results, but they haven't received any formal notifications from authorities. While most of their products have already been pulled out from online retailers, the company's frozen pork dumplings are still widely available in different retail stores and supermarkets nationwide.
