China guarantees safe food for Games athletes

Source: Xinhua  |   2008-8-1  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

CHINA'S food safety supervisors yesterday reiterated their confidence in supplies for next week's Olympics, saying athletes could rely on catering services at the Olympic village.

China is "capable and confident" of ensuring the absolute safety of food supplied to the Games, said Tang Yunhua, a Beijing Food Safety Administration official.

She said the capital's food quality control department had sent inspectors to monitor the entire process of Olympic food supply, from production to the table, to make sure nothing could go wrong.

"We shoulder this responsibility for the perfect safety of Olympic food. We are capable and confident of it," she told reporters. She said the city government had enormously improved its monitoring and supervision systems since 2005 by implementing a special action plan for the safety of Olympic food, as well as local laws concerning food safety.

Monitored

Under the system, inspectors were sent to monitor the entire supply chain, including certified farm producers, food processing factories, and storage and transport businesses, Tang said.

Supervisory agents had even closely monitored the use of animal feed and pesticides in order to prevent any possible health risk, she said.

Tang said any concerns that possible food safety problems, such as residual drugs in animal feed, that could jeopardize athletes' performances were unfounded as China had adopted strict national standards for food safety which were largely in line with international standards. All meat, dairy products and eggs supplied to the Olympic Village that will house and feed some 16,000 people had met the standards and were safe to eat, Tang said.