Macao has suspended mango imports from Taiwan after detecting traces of coronavirus on the fruit. The suspension prohibits imports with “the same origin” as the contaminated mangos for one week beginning Thursday, June 30.
It isn’t clear how Macao is defining the mangos’ origin.
Government officials from the Chinese special administrative region say they made the decision after samples taken from the fruit tested positive. They also sealed and destroyed 20 boxes of the affected mango, weighing a total of 100 kilograms.
Taiwan’s council of agriculture says there is nothing to show that food or fruit is a source of transmission of coronavirus. They’re calling on Macao’s authorities to provide evidence to support their claim.
This is the third such claim China has issued in the past few weeks. Imports of frozen beltfish and horse mackerel from Taiwan were also banned for one week respectively in early and late June.