Norwegian Salmon Not Linked to Chinese Market Covid-19 Outbreak

Norway's fisheries and seafood minister, Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen, said Wednesday that salmon from his country wasn't the source of the coronavirus found at Beijing's largest wholesale food market in June 13.

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The official confirmed during a video conference that Chinese and Norwegian authorities had concluded on Tuesday that the outbreak in the Xinfadi market didn't originate in fish from Norway after the virus was found on a chopping board for imported salmon and local authorities initially retired the fish from the shelves.

Although there is no evidence that food is a source of coronavirus (COVID-19) and it is very unlikely it can be transmitted through the consumption of food, the news of the outbreak sparked a wave of fear among Chinese consumers.

The alarm eventually led the Chinese government to halt salmon imports from Norway, which held a 45 percent market share of fresh salmon to China from January to April 2020, according to statistics from the Norwegian Seafood Council.

In the wake of the outbreak, Norwegian companies such as Norway Royal Salmon and Bakkafrost said that its employees had been examined for COVID-19, and none of them had tested positive. However, it is estimated that the shares of these companies, along with other European export enterprises, went down between 3% and 5%, as China consumes about 5% of the global production of salmon.

On the other hand, Shi Guoqing deputy director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China said on June 16 during a press conference that there was no trace of the virus on the salmon before it reached the market. Therefore, "at present, all the evidence points to Xinfadi, rather than to salmon," the official added.

Guoqing also assured that no contamination had been found in restaurants selling salmon, and no infections have been found among people who eat the fish. Also, there have been no Covid-19 outbreaks related to imported salmon in any other city.