No firm evidence of food trade spreading coronavirus: FAO

There is no significant evidence of coronavirus being spread through food trade and such reports "need to be minimised", Maximo Torero Cullen, chief economist of the United Nations food and agriculture agency, said on Wednesday.

The FAO has previously said it does not see food production in supplier countries as a source of the novel coronavirus, he told the Global Grain conference.

China says it has found the virus on the packaging of products from 20 countries but foreign officials say the lack of evidence produced by authorities means it is damaging trade.