Phnom Penh: The Embassy of India in Phnom Penh has requested that samples of imported buffalo meat be retested. It says the containers in question all tested negative for Covid-19 three months ago before being shipped to Cambodia. The Ministry of Health announced yesterday that Covid-19 had been found in three containers of frozen buffalo meat and that the food was to be destroyed.

The positive test results were confirmed by the Institute Pasteur, but the Indian Embassy says it wants the retesting done by what it calls an “advanced lab” in Singapore. It says the costs of these new tests will be covered by the exporters and importers. It simply doesn’t believe that the containers or packaging contained Covid-19, saying there is no scientific proof that the virus can survive for three months on food or food packaging, although it’s important to note that the food and packaging were frozen.

The Indian Embassy says if the containers cannot be retested, then they should be returned to India. It says the meat was shipped with the required negative Covid-19 tests and the exporters complied with all necessary requirements. It says the conflicting test results are a matter of serious concern and are, “damaging to bilateral commercial relations and business reputation and sentiments between India and Cambodia.”