A villager soaks the soybeans at a workshop in Baiyang town of Lichuan city, Central China's Hubei Province, Jan. 12, 2020. Photo: Xinhua

The China National Food Industry Association said on Saturday that no Chinese soybean company has reported any of their employees to have been tested positive for COVID-19, clarifying concerns that soybean products may be unsafe after an official said coronavirus samples were found at zones in Xinfadi market that sell soybean products.

"The raw materials for production of soybean products are from China. The manufacturing process includes sterilization. It's impossible for soybean products to carry the coronavirus," the association said in a statement on its website.

According to the association, the virus was found near soybean products because the area has bad ventilation and a damp environment where salmon and beef are sold.

The association has been following the health situation of industry workers since the COVID-19 outbreak. Even during the worst of the outbreak in February, soybean companies across the country remained open to guarantee supply, with zero cases of an employee being infected, it said.