COVID-19 is taking its toll on almost all sectors of society, including the packaging and shipping of food and frozen goods.

In China, traces of COVID-19 were found on the packaging of shrimp imported from Ecuador.

The next day, a sample of frozen chicken wings imported from Brazil also tested positive for traces of the virus. 

Since July, at least eight places in China have seen instances of the virus being detected on surfaces or packaging of imported food items, mostly seafood.

As countries continue to battle the pandemic, should we be worried about the virus contaminating our food?

Martin Wiedmann, Gellert Family Professor of Food Safety at Cornell University in the U.S. state of New York, says there's no need to worry about these kinds of headlines. 

He says it's important to know what kind of tests were done on the foods and whether they detected a live virus or traces of genetic material (DNA). Most likely, DNA tests were done, which found traces of COVID-19's (DNA).

Although COVID-19's DNA can have a longer shelf-life, scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say catching it through our food is not a cause for concern.

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