There is no need for the US Olympic team to ship their own food to the
Beijing Games, Chinese officials said Thursday as they insisted local
cuisine was safe to eat despite a series of scares.

Citing the danger of additives such as steroids in Chinese produce
that could lead to positive doping tests, US officials reportedly plan
to send tonnes of their own food including beef and chicken to Beijing
for the Games.

But officials here said Chinese food was safe and urged US athletes to
put aside any food safety concerns.

"The standards of Olympic food safety are much higher than
international standards so all the delegations can enjoy the food we
provide," said Tang Yunhua, spokeswoman for the Beijing Municipal
Office of Food Safety.

The New York Times reported this month that the US Olympic Committee
had arranged to ship 25,000 pounds (11 tonnes) of food to Beijing two
months ahead of the Games.

As usual during Olympic Games, no delegations will be allowed to bring
their own food supplies into the Athletes Village, where several
restaurants will supply meals 24 hours a day.

But US officials intend to serve up three meals a day to their
athletes at their training headquarters, the nearby Beijing Normal
University.

In addition to concerns about steroids, the report said US Olympic
officials were worried about pesticides and additives, and that
hygiene standards for meat were lower in China than the United States.

More than 10,000 athletes will be in Beijing for the August 8-24 Games
along with an expected 500,000 foreign visitors.
Tang said all competitors would be safe from health hazards related to
contaminated food thanks to a campaign launched five years ago that
had cleaned up China's food supply chain.

"The overall scenario is good, it has improved a lot," she told a
press conference.

"We have a basket of measures to guarantee food safety and to monitor
the food safety situation in the Olympic venues (so) food safety will
be guaranteed and ensured."

On doping concerns, Lu Yong, director of the Beijing Municipal Food
Safety Monitoring Group, said the reported US fears had no scientific
basis.

"There is no report that we have seen suggesting that athletes who
have eaten meat which contains (banned substances) have ever tested
positive for drugs," he said. "If you come across such a report, let
me know."

Food security is a key issue in China ahead of the August Olympics
after a spate of scares in recent years involving food and product
safety.

In the latest case, Chinese-made dumplings contaminated by pesticides
sickened thousands of Japanese last month.

To keep the Games free of similar concerns, officials have begun
implementing rigorous plans including round-the-clock guards for
Olympic kitchens, food storage areas under video surveillance and food
transport vehicles fitted with global positioning systems.

White mice will also be used to test food destined to be eaten by
athletes.

But Tang said that food safety outside the Olympic venues would also
be guaranteed.

"In order to ensure food safety for the Olympic Games we have to
guarantee food safety for Beijing," she said.

"Only when the overall food safety has been improved can Olympic food
security be guaranteed."

AFP - Friday, February 22

http://www.meiguoxing.com/News/Feb20...oodIsSafe.html