Samples of ice cream tested positive for?coronavirus?in?China?and the incident has left health authorities rushing to trace people who are now at risk of infection.??
The contaminated ice cream caused Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company to dump 2,089 boxes of the product, but some officials allege that 4,836 boxes have been contaminated, Sky News reported.?
Three samples of locally produced ice cream were found to be contaminated in the Tianjin municipality, in the northeast of the country.
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Reports state that the market regulation authorities in other provinces outside Tianjin where the ice cream was sent were notified of the issue, and customers who may have purchased the product are being told to report their health to community officials.?
?1,812 boxes were allegedly dispatched to other provinces and 935 entered the local market but only 65 were sold,??
Officials say that the coronavirus was able to survive in the ice cream due to the cold temperature and was likely transferred from a person who had the disease.?
Dr Stephen Griffin, a virologist based at the University of Leeds, said the ice cream's positive test likely derived from human contact and was a 'one-off'.?
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He told Sky News, 'The chances are that this is the result of an issue with the production plant and potentially down to hygiene at the factory.'
Tianjin produced the batch of ice cream using raw materials including milk powder imported from New Zealand and whey powder imported from Ukraine.??
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