State Food Service, milk producers deny info on detection of COVID-19 in milk whey exported to China

State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection together with the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine and companies producing dairy products deny the information about the detection of coronavirus (COVID-19) disease in the domestic whey powder exported to China.

According to their report, the details announced at a press conference will be made public in Kyiv on Friday.

As reported in the press announcement, it will be attended by Head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection Vladyslava Mahaletska; Chairman of the Union of Dairy Enterprises of Ukraine Vadym Chaharovsky; Deputy Head of the Institute of Food Resources of National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine Iryna Romanchuk; and General Director of Ukrprodukt Group LLC Yuriy Hordeichyk.

Three samples of a batch of ice cream produced by Tianjin Daqiaodao Food Company tested positive for COVID-19 at Tianjin Center for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a press release citing a January report from Xinhua News Agency (China).

Xinhua reported on January 15, 2021 that positive test results for coronavirus were found in whey powder imported from Ukraine for the production of ice cream, and on January 29, the Ukrainian authorities were notified by the General Administration of Customs of China that during the customs clearance of the dry whey, the virus checks were not required.

As reported in the press announcement, officials of the Ministry of Commerce of China routinely expressed concern about these publications in the Chinese media, which affect the development of Ukrainian-Chinese relations. They noted the lack of information in the said department and in Tianjin authority about any checks of Ukrainian whey and detection of COVID-19.

According to the cited words of representatives of the Ministry of Commerce of China, the department, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is investigating publications and their sources.

There is no official confirmation of positive results of whey test. Ukrainian producers and exporters of dairy products faced the need to prove their innocence and the proper quality of their products.

Source: www.en.interfax.com.ua