Taizhou in East China's Zhejiang province recently released a notice to remind people to exercise caution when purchasing imported cold chain food and fruits.

The notice came after a few places in Zhejiang, including Taizhou's Jiaojiang district, reported cases where imported fruits such as dragon fruit and longan tested positive for COVID-19 during routine nucleic acid tests.

On Dec 30, the virus was detected on the packaging of a fruit imported by a fruit wholesaler in the Taizhou Agricultural and Sideline Products Distribution Center located in Jiaojiang district.

Closed management has since been imposed on the market and all personnel have been required to undergo nucleic acid tests.

People have been urged not to buy imported cold chain food and fruits with unknown origins, according to the notice.

Information related to the product's place of origin and quarantine can normally be retrieved by scanning the "Zhejiang Food Chain" and "Zhejiang Cold Chain Food" codes printed on the food packages.

Self-protection measures including washing and disinfecting hands immediately after cooking or processing imported food are recommended.

People should also avoid touching body parts such as the mouth, nose and eyes when dealing with imported food.

Authorities stated that the virus can be eradicated when the cooking temperature is around 70 degrees Celsius.