U.S. Olympic officials eyeing food problem

COLORADO SPRINGS, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- U.S officials are preparing for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by planning food shipments and safety precautions for their athletes while in China.

With the number of food safety issues in China rising in recent years, U.S. Olympic officials have instituted a plan aimed at ensuring their athletes stay healthy by providing them with appropriately prepared foods, The New York Times said Saturday.

Included among these precautionary efforts are shipments of 25,000 pounds of lean protein to China and finding Chinese vendors who will be able to offer athletes secure and properly cooked foods.

One point of concern regarding Chinese foods is the presence of steroids in many chicken products, items that could make an athlete test positive for the illegal performance enhancers should they ingest them,

The culinary security efforts also will be focused on the upcoming qualifying events U.S. athletes will be participating worldwide.

The Times said for those events, all U.S. athletes will be provided with pouches of chicken and cooking utensils in order to prevent them from eating other inappropriate or dangerous foods.