China Bristles at US' Olympic Food Snub

Beijing insists meat is safe, but Americans will brown-bag it
By Katherine Thompson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 22, 2008 8:36 AM CST
China Bristles at US' Olympic Food Snub
Spectators walk below the translucent wall of the National Aquatics Center, known as the Water Cube, as they arrive for an Olympic test event in Beijing Monday Feb. 4, 2008. The Water Cube will host swimming and diving competition at the 2008 Olympic Games, which open Aug 8. With the Beijing Olympics...   (Associated Press)

China says it's a "pity" that US athletes won't be joining their international counterparts at dinner tables during the Olympics this summer over worries about the safety of food and water. American athletes will ship in their own meat and eat at their own training center, and China is none too happy about the snub, says the Washington Post. Reports of meat stuffed with chemical additives and bacteria-filled water have scared the US off.

"I feel it's a pity that they have decided to bring their own food," said the Olympic committee's catering chief. A Beijing official insists that "food safety standards for the Olympic Games are much more strict than international standards," although recent reports from Chinese and US sources seem to indicate that lax enforcement is the norm. (More China stories.)

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