File photo of chickens

China has not granted access to British poultry meat providers to enter the country, Chinese customs said, defusing public concerns about a recent COVID-19 outbreak at a meat processing plant in Britain. 

"The General Administration of Customs confirms that British poultry meat has not been approved to enter China and cannot be exported to China," the customs authority said on Saturday in an online statement. 

The customs authority asked the British relevant departments to follow the instructions issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN and WHO to ensure its food safety. 

British relevant department said eight British pork enterprises and two beef enterprises are registered in China, all of which have taken safeguards to prevent the COVID-19 virus from contaminating exported meat exported to China, the statement noted. 

Chinese customs require relevant British companies to report to China if they discover any COVID-19 infections.

As of Saturday, 75 staff at the 2 Sisters meat processing plant in Llangefni, Britain, have tested positive for COVID-19, cited from Public Health Wales by the BBC. 

The chicken factory supplies meat to KFC and M&S and is now shut down due to the virus outbreak. It is not the first outbreak in a meat processing factory overseas. 

On May 8, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US CDC) stated in a report that COVID-19 has been found at 115 meat processing plants in 19 US states. 

More than 700 workers at a German meat plant also tested positive, media reports said. 

On Thursday, Chinese authorities reinforced safeguards to control food safety at the source of imported food and agricultural products, in order to guarantee Chinese consumers' health and safety. 

Global Times