The gradual leveling off of the COVID-19 epidemic has made everyone feel that life in China is getting slowly back to normal. But the recent flood of news about imported items potentially carrying traces of the virus is a reminder that significant precautions are still needed.

So in this transition period, is imported food safe to buy?

“If the government issues the warning to any food includes vegetables, fruits, seafood, or any import goods, we are not going to buy them, ” said Yuexia Zhang, who was shopping at an imported supermarket.

Some imported goods are sent off for testing as part of safety measures for shoppers in the supermarket. while many citizens are still uncertain about imports, many have faith in the country and the government to keep them safe.

So what specific policies has the national government implemented?  “Many summary goods are still restricted under the government regulations,” Imported Supermarket Aquaculture Area Manager Mailong Wang said, “to ensure safety, China has strict regulations on supermarket items.”

“Only a few unqualified products have been found in the existing 7 million inspections,” Import and Export Corporation sells Guozhong Zhu said.

With the rapid rise of the global epidemic, all items imported from abroad are at risk of being contaminated by COVID-19.

Generally, the amount of contamination is small enough not to cause infection, but people who are repeatedly exposed to contamination, such as stevedores, may become infected.

Imported goods consumed by ordinary people usually come from supermarkets or shops, which have undergone strict inspection and disinfection before being put on shelves and generally do not cause infection.

And food, in particular, tends to be washed before we eat it, so it’s pretty safe to buy for now.

Fan Ping said, “Those goods must take the first COVID-19 properties at the port, and then take the second at the factory to ensure its safety.” She is a manager of the import department of the Import and Export Corporation.

In addition to the multi-level inspection and disinfection of imported goods, freight workers and even the staff in the imported supermarket also need to do COVID-19 tests regularly, so this covers the comprehensive disinfection of vehicles, personnel, goods and the overall environment.

Even if it has been completely disinfected, once the COVID-19 test proves the product is safe, the staff  immediately seals up the goods, and reports the findings.

If the internal food is found to be positive with traces of COVID, it will be destroyed. If the internal packaging tests negative, it will need to be disposed of in the next step under the guidance of the health department.

However, as long there is a positive result of the COVID-19 test in the cold chain food’s outer box, it is no longer allowed to enter the consumer market directly.

To this end, the Market Supervision and Administration requires all cold chain foods to be marketed on the basis original procedures, COVID-19 test reports and sterilization certificates.

Although some health experts say coronavirus can be carried in imported goods, China is trying to ensure the safety of all imported goods accessible to its people. Covid rates are falling, and vaccinations in China are well underway.