China insists coronavirus can be imported through food, the world disagrees

‘There have been sporadic outbreaks across China, mostly linked to workers dealing with cold-chain imported food. The country said last week that it would ban food imports from countries with coronavirus outbreaks in their production facilities, or whose products were found to contain traces of the virus. Trade partners have bristled at the restrictions targeted at preventing imports of the virus, but China's severe measures should not be hastily written off: its travel bans and mandatory mask-wearing efforts earlier this year have proven prescient.’

Read here (Straits Times, Nov 18, 2020)

WHO downplays danger of coronavirus latching on to food packaging

‘Two cities in China have found traces of the new coronavirus in cargoes of imported frozen food, local authorities said on Thursday (Aug 13), although the World Health Organization downplayed the risk of the virus entering the food chain. A sample taken from the surface of frozen chicken wings imported into the southern city of Shenzhen from Brazil, as well as samples of outer packaging of frozen Ecuadorian shrimp sold in the northwestern city of Xian, have tested positive for the virus, local Chinese authorities said.

‘Viruses can survive up to two years at temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius, but scientists and officials say there is no strong evidence so far the coronavirus can spread via frozen food.’

Read here (Channel News Asia, August 14, 2020)

World risks ‘biblical’ famines due to pandemic, says the UN

‘A report estimates that the number suffering from hunger could go from 135 million to more than 250 million. Those most at risk are in 10 countries affected by conflict, economic crisis and climate change, the WFP says. The fourth annual Global Report on Food Crises highlights Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Nigeria and Haiti.’

Read here (BBC, April 21, 2020)

Rotten: The highly unpalatable side of our food supply chains

Subscribers of Netflix can watch the two-season ‘Rotton’, a ‘docuseries [that] travels deep into the heart of the food supply chain to reveal unsavoury truths and expose hidden forces that shape what we eat.’ The reception to this series on Wikipedia: ‘Reaction to the series has been relatively positive, with a rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. It is praised for its high-quality cinematography and compelling, human-centred narratives but criticised for focusing on particular issues rather than providing explanation for wider industry problems, or giving the viewer answers as to which brands and products are unaffected by the issues the series presents.’

Read here (Netflix)