China defends Olympics food safety after snub
China
Sunday 02 March 2008
Food-safety fears have prompted the US Olympic delegation to make plans to bring its own food to the event.
Chinese officials have expressed disappointment at the announcement by the US delegation to this year's Olympic Games that it plans to bring its own food for US athletes due to fears over the safety of locally-produced fare.
"I feel it´s a pity that they have decided to bring their own food," said Kang Yi, chief of the catering division for the Beijing Olympics organising committee, adding that the organisers had planned for the athletes to dine together.
Mr Kang insisted that the food served to athletes at the Olympic Games would exceed international health standards, following China's move to select only 36 companies as food service vendors. These suppliers will be closely monitored by a network of supervisory agents, with fresh produce sourced from farms that use few chemicals, have on-site testing and employ electronic GPS and RFID systems to track their products from field-to-fork.
Where a particular item is not available from Chinese producers, it will be imported, and the California Strawberry Commission said it is working to secure a special waiver for California-grown strawberries - currently prohibited entry due to quarantine issues - as athletes have requested that the category be included on the Olympic Village menu.
Chinese officials have expressed disappointment at the announcement by the US delegation to this year's Olympic Games that it plans to bring its own food for US athletes due to fears over the safety of locally-produced fare.
"I feel it´s a pity that they have decided to bring their own food," said Kang Yi, chief of the catering division for the Beijing Olympics organising committee, adding that the organisers had planned for the athletes to dine together.
Mr Kang insisted that the food served to athletes at the Olympic Games would exceed international health standards, following China's move to select only 36 companies as food service vendors. These suppliers will be closely monitored by a network of supervisory agents, with fresh produce sourced from farms that use few chemicals, have on-site testing and employ electronic GPS and RFID systems to track their products from field-to-fork.
Where a particular item is not available from Chinese producers, it will be imported, and the California Strawberry Commission said it is working to secure a special waiver for California-grown strawberries - currently prohibited entry due to quarantine issues - as athletes have requested that the category be included on the Olympic Village menu.
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