China is launching a food safety monitoring system next month at test events for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The system will monitor 10 categories including production, processing, sale and cooking, and daily reports will be issued. It will be implemented at sports events to test facilities and logistics at venues being used for next year’s Games.

The Beijing Municipal Food Safety Office will share the system with all of the other Olympic host cities, including Tianjin and Shanghai.

The move comes amid a lot of publicity in overseas newspapers about the quality of goods that China exports. Health scares have ranged from toxic toothpaste ingredients to pet food and toxic seafood. A lot of reassurance is needed for anyone taking part as a contestant or viewer at the Olympics. The back of a lavatory door does not make a good viewing vista for a major athletic event.

Earlier this month officials announced that athletes and visitors heading to Beijing for the Olympics should not be concerned by recent Chinese food scandals, as many safety measures were being put in place for the Games.

Our illustration shows a Chinese laboratory worker at work in front of foods samples at the Biosafety lab in Beijing.
Source: AFP News Brief

Doping was a problem with the Athens Games and gained it much bad publicity. Beijing really does not want that and is pushing the limits.

Zhao Jian, head of the Anti-Doping Commission of the Chinese Olympic Committee, said, ‘As announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the number of doping tests will increase to 4,500 during the Beijing Games. We have now finished training the bulk of the team. Our preparations are going ahead smoothly.’

Most of the team have worked in the field for about ten years. Some 200 more staff will be recruited from local hospitals to plug the gaps.

Zhao Jian said, ‘The heads of all the doping control centers at the competition venues are very experienced. Meanwhile, those plucked from local hospitals will get to practice at this year’s test events. A further 800 college volunteers will be recruited to help out.’

Doping tests have risen steadily in recent years. 2,800 at the Sydney Games in 2000 to 3,700 in Athens. BOCOG is now in discussions with each of the 28 international sports federations to determine how many doping tests will be needed for each Olympic sport next year.

Zhao Jian said, ‘The number is usually decided by the host country based on what it is capable of and the IOC’s approval. Although the scale of the tests will be a challenge, we are confident we can manage it.’

The country’s drug-testing laboratory, which was set up in 1989 for the 1990 Asian Games, has passed the IOC’s level-A examination for 17 straight years. And Beijing has almost finished building a new laboratory to meet the increased demand. The new lab covers 5,000 sq m and has cost the city over RMB70 million ($10 million).

The new lab will be put into use at the end of August for some of the Olympic warm-up events.
Source: China Daily

China is taking action to ensure a clean Chinese team for next year’s Olympic Games. The Chinese Olympic Committee confirmed an increase in the number of annual anti-doping tests. Zhao Jian, head of the Anti-Doping Commission, said an effective anti-doping program will count in assessing whether the Beijing Olympic Games is successful. ‘We want our athletes to play a fair and clean game. Our aim is to ensure that no one in the Chinese delegation uses performance-enhancing substances,’ he said.

Zhao Jian said the number of tests is increasing each year. Over 9,000 tests were carried out last year, 70% were conducted out of competition. The number may exceed 10,000 this year as the Olympics approaches. High-level athletes are the main targets.

The anti-doping commission has a database with detailed information of the athletes’ daily whereabouts. ‘We follow all athletes’ whereabouts and a pool of 2,000 or so athletes are especially closely watched.’ said Zhao Jian. Particular attention is given to sports with a high risk for performance enhancement. He said that weightlifting, swimming, track and field, wrestling, cycling, and rowing historically have a high rate of testing positive.

Daily, there are over 300 officials taking urine and blood samples from athletes training throughout China. ‘If the athletes fail to report and thus are absent from our random tests, they will fail the tests,’ said Zhao Jian. ‘We won’t hesitate in cracking down on drug cheats among Chinese athletes.’

The Anti-Doping Commission is responsible for implementing the doping control plan for the Olympics where 4,500 tests are expected. A new doping control center of 5,000 square meters is under construction for the Beijing Games. 150 people, including twenty international doping control experts, will work in the center during the Games.
Source: China Daily

It is a sad reflection on the current state of sport that over 200 medical workers have been recruited to help conduct dope tests during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

Chen Zhiyu, an official of the Beijing Organising Committee for the 2008 Games (BOCOG), said these workers would mainly be in charge of technicalities like collecting blood samples and sample analysis. He said, ‘They were selected from 23 hospitals in Beijing, but still need to pass exams to obtain qualification after receiving a three-day training course.’But it is not just 200 testers. About 750 college students have also been recruited to notify athletes of doping checks and accompany them to the doping control rooms at the competition venues.

The International Olympic Committee has announced that up to 4,600 urine and blood tests will be carried out during the 2008 Olympics, a 25% increase over the number of controls at the 2004 Athens Games. A sad reflection on our times
Source: India Times Sports