Ecuadorian authorities dialogue to analyze the case. The Minister of Health guarantees the consumption of the crustacean.
The Ministry of Production announced that despite the investigation being carried out due to the alleged discovery of traces of coronavirus in shrimp containers that were sent from Ecuador to China, exports of this crustacean have not stopped.
Iván Ontaneda, Minister of Production, indicated that the country has not been sanctioned, as well as the shipment of Ecuadorian shrimp to the Asian country.
In a virtual press conference, Ontaneda indicated that the General Administration of Chinese Customs reported that the nucleic acid tests carried out on the shrimp packages of Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila, Empacreci and Edpacif were positive.
The Santa Priscila company regretted this situation and mentioned that all they want is to destroy the reputation of the industry.
Through a statement, Santiago Salem, president of Santa Priscila, the country’s largest shrimp exporter, stated that it had not been notified of any anomaly. But he insisted that, even with the results of the tests, efforts are being made to destroy the reputation of the Ecuadorian shrimp.
He maintained that the test that came out positive is not contagious and was taken from the walls of the container and found that the shrimp did not come out positive in any sample.
According to the authorities, the Asian country has yet to corroborate its complaint, because the country has been strictly complying with its biosafety protocols.
«We are committed to health, to the country. Exports are guaranteed. Markets can be safe, «he said.
The secretary of state commented that they are working with the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Health and the Chinese counterpart to review the protocols that will mitigate the concern of the Asian authorities.
He added that all the information that is being required to support our country’s position will be sent to China.
He said that even though the processing plants comply with the necessary measures, the controls will be maximized.
For the clinical doctor and infectologist, Rafael Caputi, there needs to be a large viral load on the infected surface to be considered contagious.
He said that this would not be possible due to the path that the shrimp must take to be exported to China, since the shipment takes between 18 to 20 days and must remain in temperatures that are below 20 degrees. Conditions that for Caputi would reduce all possibility for the virus to be active.
The Health Minister, Juan Carlos Zevallos, agreed with this criterion.
«There are traces of the genetic material typical of the virus,» he said, adding that China must rectify its position taking into account these points of view.
Zevallos made a call to consume Ecuadorian shrimp, without problems, and said that it has not been proven that the virus is transmitted by food. But this is not the first time that China has questioned the Ecuadorian shrimp. In September 2019, he indicated having detected white spot in a container shipped from our country.
Source: Expreso, Ministry of Production, social networks
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