China suspends imports of Ecuador shrimp on Covid-19 pandemic risk

China began testing imported fresh and frozen food after the coronavirus was found on a chopping board used to cut salmon at a large food market in Beijing

China's customs authority said on Friday it was suspending imports from three shrimp producers in Ecuador after detecting the new coronavirus in recent shipments.

It said samples taken from shipments from Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila SA, Empacreci SA and Empacadora Del Pacifico Sociedad Anonima Edpacif had produced six positive results. However, tests on the frozen shrimp and inner packaging were negative.

The companies did not respond to requests for comment.

The findings are the first positive results announced by Beijing since it began testing imported frozen foods for presence of the virus.

"After nucleic acid sequence analysis and expert judgement, the test results suggested