Chinese customs ask food exporters to declare produce is coronavirus-free

Beijing began testing imported food for the coronavirus after an outbreak in a wholesale food market last week

China's customs authority has asked food exporters to the country to sign a declaration their produce is not contaminated by the novel coronavirus, three people who received a letter said on Friday.

The declaration, seen by Reuters, may be an effort by China to reduce the additional testing it has carried out on imported foods over the last week and make exporters responsible for guaranteeing their products' safety, one meat importer who had signed it said. He declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the issue.

The French pork industry association Inaporc also received the notice, an official