U.S. Olympics Team Brown Bagging it in China

[SteveGrenard]

After a spate of still unresolved tainted human and dog food/medicine scandals, the U.S. Olympics team has decided to bring their own food to China when they participate in upcoming summer Olympics.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/09/sports/othersports/09olympics.html?th&emc=th

— When a caterer working for the United States Olympic Committee went to a supermarket in China last year, he encountered a piece of chicken — half of a breast — that measured 14 inches. “Enough to feed a family of eight,” said Frank Puleo, a caterer from Staten Island who has traveled to China to handle food-related issues.

“We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.”

In preparing to take a delegation of more than 600 athletes to the Summer Games in Beijing this year, the U.S.O.C. faces food issues beyond steroid-laced chicken. In recent years, some foods in China have been found to be tainted with insecticides and illegal veterinary drugs, and the standards applied to meat there are lower than those in the United States, raising fears of food-borne illnesses.

Here's the latest case to hit the headlines, mainly between China and Japan and is being blamed for renewed strained relations between the two countries. Although the number of incidents may be minor it is being taken seriously:

TOKYO: Japan Tobacco Inc and Nissin Food Products Co Ltd scrapped a merger of their frozen food businesses on Wednesday because of a food scare involving contaminated dumplings imported by Japan Tobacco. The Chinese-made dumplings have made 10 Japanese sick, and Japan's health minister raised the possibility on Tuesday that the food had been deliberately contaminated with pesticide.

Japanese police are investigating the case on suspicion of attempted murder after a five-year-old girl fell critically ill from eating the dumplings, which are known as gyoza in Japan and are normally eaten after dipping in soy sauce. The girl has since recovered. Both Tokyo and Beijing have called for close cooperation in the case, which has prompted huge Japanese media coverage and health queries from nearly 4,000 people.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...acco_frozen_food_deal/articleshow/2760439.cms

 

[alfaniner]

On Penn and Teller's Magic and Mystery Tour video, they spoke at length about their desire and need to bring all their own food when they went to China.

 

[rjh01]

I wonder how the ordinary Chinese people who cannot grow much of their own food cope with this sort of food? Do they often fall sick? How will the Chinese sports people get their food and will they test positive for banned drugs because of it?

 

[SteveGrenard]

I wonder how the ordinary Chinese people who cannot grow much of their own food cope with this sort of food? Do they often fall sick? How will the Chinese sports people get their food and will they test positive for banned drugs because of it?

And what about the other foreign teams competing? Will they test + for drugs and be disqualified? Will only the people packing their own lunches with organically raised or home raised produce be allowed to compete? Will events be won based on default after drug testing?

Will athletes now be able to use the tainted chicken or beef defense when testing poisitive?
I wonder how much tainted food Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens have eaten over the years to put them into their situation? I see a whole new legal specialization emerging here. And a whole new sector in food processing as well...with special food grown especially for athletes guaranteed not to cause them to test positive.

And a whole new field of science as well. Some of these additives to the feed of chickens and beef may end up in the chicken and beef but will human stomach acid and/or cooking destroy them? We know a lot of these drugs can be effectively swallowed orally but not cooked.... and that other drugs are not absorbed by the GI tract and pass without causing measurable blood levels. But then if they test urine, for example, does this mean the drug is in the body or does it merely mean it is being excreted without effect? The athletes accused of taking these drugs are usually accused mof having them injected, not swallowed so does this make a difference?

So many questions, so few answers.....

 

[coalesce]

That stinks--going all the way to China and not being able to eat the world's most delicious food (next to Italian, of course...)

Michael

 

[Skeptical Greg]

Contrary to popular belief, they do not serve Chinese food in China ..

 

[Wolfman]

Perhaps someone can correct me on this, but I know that Canadian Olympic athletes, for one, are put on a fairly strict diet regime specifically because of this issue, regardless of what country they are in. Many foods in Canada and the U.S. also are so pumped full of steroids and other chemicals that they cause exactly the same problem.

So this is nothing new.

The only real difference here is that, in Canada or the U.S., it is relatively easy to identify which foods are organic, and which foods are not. In China, there'd be a significantly greater problem in this regard, since A) regulation is more lax and B) even if products are organic, they are labeled in Chinese. How's a foreign team going to know what food is or is not safe?

Gotta' agree with the "chicken little" thing; yeah, this is a problem, but it is a problem that professional athletes face in every country, and of which they must be aware. There have been a number of cases of athletes testing positive for hormones, or other chemicals, where the most likely source of those things was in foods that they had consumed. In a country where you cannot even speak the language, or read the packaging, of course you're going to be more cautious.

In regards to the health thing, for those Chinese who have access to decent medical care, I find that Chinese on the whole are far healthier than in the West. However, I will note here that recent studies have indicated that the average bust size of Chinese women is increasing steadily (not including implants), a trend attributed to hormones used to make animals grow more quickly (and a trend that I can attest to from quite regular observation).

 

[Wolfman]

Further info on this issue can be found in this article. The Chinese gov't has, for the past three years, been setting up a strict system of organically grown food for the Olympic athletes. Within the Olympic village, where athletes are housed and will eat, the only food that will be allowed will come from specially-appointed suppliers who have produced their food to the strictest standards.

There will be 24 varieties of pork, 5 kinds of beef, 9 varieties of lamb and 65 types of vegetables available during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Athletes will be able to choose from 28 major categories including over 450 varieties of food during the Games. Recipes will change every week. Because many vegetables are not in season in August, Beijing will grow 5,000 tons of off-season vegetables on thousands of mu of land in northern region of the city: approximately 500-800 meters above sea level.

It is somewhat a cumbersome task for Beijing to satisfy the entire food chain. It cannot rely on domestic production to meet the dietary demands of athletes, such as the 140 or more varieties of cheese. As a result, BOCOG has signed an agreement with the Carrefour Group to import some cheese products during the games. At the same time, BOCOG and the market regulation division have discussed further details. For example, BOCOG will take into account the energy intake of athletes and replace sugar in canned food with low-calorie xylitol.

Of course, this helps only for athletes who eat inside the Olympic village; I suspect that teams from every country, including the Chinese team, will have restrictions on eating in other public venues (in fact, most Chinese Olympic athletes have already been put on a fairly strict diet using only the 'official' foods produced for the Olympics).

This issue is quite a public one in China, with lots of public discussion and debate. On the one hand, there are public health concerns. On the other hand, the cost to produce the organically grown foods (particularly products such as pork, beef, etc.) require such stringent controls that it is up to three times more expensive to grow this way, than using the various hormones/chemicals/steroids that are normally used. The idea of doubling or tripling the cost of food is not one that tends to go over well with the majority of the populace.

Like many developing countries, China's greatest initial priority tends to be on providing increasing amounts of food from decreasing arable land. Throw in floods that wipe out a significant portion of the food supplies every few years (and leave hundreds of thousands homeless), and the problem becomes even more severe.

So yeah...there are problems here. In regards to the Olympics, the Chinese gov't is taking very serious steps to address food quality issues. In regards to daily life, while this is a concern, there are other problems and concerns that (at least in the short term) tend to trump this one.

 

[JoeEllison]

All I know for sure is, when I was a competitive athlete, on race day I only ate Gerber's Apple Sauce... nummy!

 

[Wolfman]

Ah...I finally got around to reading the original article that Steve linked to, and lo-and-behold, it has this little gem:

The diet plan is already in place for the athletes residing at each of the three United States training centers — here and in Chula Vista, Calif., and Lake Placid, N.Y. And the organization is urging all United States athletes to be aware of what they ingest. Under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s drug-testing code, athletes are responsible for whatever is in their bodies, regardless of the source.

In other words -- as I stated above -- the exact same food restrictions and diet requirements are already in place for American athletes in the U.S. This is not some sort of special "China" issue.

Yet curiously enough, neither the writer of the article, nor Steve, mention the fact that the same hormones, steroids, and other such products are present in American produce, and can likewise cause athletes to be banned.

Chicken Little, indeed. Why isn't the article titled, " U.S. Olympics Team Brown Bagging it in U.S."?

 

[gtc]

Wolfman,

Do you think the US team has more reason to be fearful of the food in China than in, say, Japan?

Edited by Darat: 

Off topic stuff removed.

 

[Soapy Sam]

Normal food is full of steroids?

So if I go on a wholly organic diet, my athletic performance (already a sad joke) will get worse?

 

[Wolfman]

Wolfman,

Do you think the US team has more reason to be fearful of the food in China than in, say, Japan?

Larsen,

Nice try.

Why not ask if they have reason to be fearful in the U.S.? As noted above, the U.S. team is already on an enforced diet that has exactly the same foods and restrictions that they will have in China.

The U.S. team -- and any other team -- has reason to be fearful of foods in any country, that may introduce substances into their bodies that would result in testing positive for banned substances. Now, in the U.S., it is easier to avoid such foods, because they are clearly labeled, and there are fairly strict requirements for such foods.

In a country -- like China, or Japan, or any other non-English-speaking country -- where you cannot read the labels, or not be sure of the origin of the food, the danger is multiplied.

However, let me alter your question a little -- does the U.S. team have reason to be more fearful of the food that is being specifically produced for Olympic athletes (American or otherwise)? No. In fact, China's efforts in this regard far outstrip the efforts of any other Olympic Games host to ensure that the foods provided are 100% safe for the athletes.

The U.S. team is taking reasonable precautions -- precautions that are every bit as necessary in the U.S. as they are in China. Most other countries, including China, are taking similar precautions. But seeing this turned into yet another SteveGrenard "look at how bad China is" post just bugs the crap out of me. Nowhere does he mention that the U.S. team is also being forced to "brown bag it" in the U.S.; and the title of his post, and the comments he makes, are obviously intended to reinforce a bias that this is a China-specific problem.

 

[gtc]

The U.S. team -- and any other team -- has reason to be fearful of foods in any country, that may introduce substances into their bodies that would result in testing positive for banned substances. Now, in the U.S., it is easier to avoid such foods, because they are clearly labeled, and there are fairly strict requirements for such foods.

OK. Do you think that ordinary travellers are more likely to face tainted or otherwise poor quality food in China than in other destinations (i.e. Japan or Korea) where they don't speak the language?

 

[Wolfman]

OK. Do you think that ordinary travellers are more likely to face tainted or otherwise poor quality food in China than in other destinations (i.e. Japan or Korea) where they don't speak the language?

Well, I've been here 15 years. Wollery's been here awhile, too. Personally, I've had almost no food-related problems in China at all; quite the opposite, I generally eat more healthy here than I ever did in Canada. And this isn't just because I speak the language, or know my way around...it was just as true when I first came here. Of course, you should avoid eating food from street vendors, or dirty hole-in-the-wall restaurants. But that tends to be true pretty much anywhere in the world.

The only major health issue in regards to food that I've run into is the almost unavoidable use of MSG in Chinese food. Not just in restaurants, but when people cook at home. Some westerners seem to be sensitive to this; Chinese people, on the other hand, seem to have no problems with it at all, and the various 'health problems' that people report from consuming MSG back home are practically non-existent here. I also have no problem with it.

If we are talking about medicine, that is an area in which I'd certainly say there's far more risk. I only buy my medicine from places that I know are reputable (ie. don't sell counterfeit medicines), and only buy foreign-made medicines. Too many fake medicines on the market here that at best won't help you, and at worst could make you sicker, or even kill you.

But food? I love the food in China, and am definitely healthier here than I was back in Canada.

ETA: Actually, considering the frequent consumption of raw seafood and meat in the Japanese diet (while Chinese cook almost everything), I think a decent argument could be made that eating in China is safer than in Japan; I know that friends who have traveled in both countries tend to have more food-related problems in Japan.

 

[SteveGrenard]

Actually its not chicken little we are talking about, it’s chicken humongous:

When a caterer working for the United States Olympic Committee went to a supermarket in China last year, he encountered a piece of chicken — half of a breast — that measured 14 inches. “Enough to feed a family of eight,” said Frank Puleo, a caterer from Staten Island who has traveled to China to handle food-related issues.

“We had it tested and it was so full of steroids that we never could have given it to athletes. They all would have tested positive.”

quote per OP

Growth hormones are illegal in chickens and pigs in the U.S., Europe and, I believe, Australia. Does China have such legal prohibitions?

When it comes to animals other than cows, the situation isn’t quite as grim. According to the FDA’s National Center for Veterinary Medicine, no hormones are approved as growth promoters for chickens or pigs (zeranol is approved for fed lambs). And while farmers also use another category of hormones called estro-synchronization products, designed to make animals give birth at the same time, these are approved only for sheep and cattle and, again, not for chickens and pigs.
As for frequency of illegal use of hormones, that’s something no one can know for sure. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the agency responsible for overseeing meat production, does no testing for natural hormones and only sporadic testing for the synthetic hormones. Still, illegal hormones have been found by more rigorous testers, such as the Swiss who, in 1999, detected diethylstilbestrol (DES), the cancer-causing, anti-miscarriage drug, in two shipments of American beef. The FDA banned the use of DES for growth promotion in chicken and lambs in 1959 and in all animal feed in 1979.
The use of growth hormones is banned in Europe, and the European Union Scientific Committee for Veterinary Measures has stated that all sex hormones used in the United States could pose a risk of cancer and "that children are most at risk."

http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=127

 

[Wolfman]

Actually its not chicken little we are talking about, it’s chicken humongous:

quote per OP

Growth hormones are illegal in chickens and pigs in the U.S., Europe and, I believe, Australia. Does China have such legal prohibitions?




http://www.checnet.org/healthehouse/education/articles-detail.asp?Main_ID=127

And actually, this has nothing to do with the decision to "brown bag it". As stated, several times in the above replies:

1) The food being provided to Olympic Athletes in China will absolutely not be the food that was referred to in the article, in fact China is making more effort than any previous Olympic organizer to provide food that is 100% organic, with no 'contaminants' whatsoever.

2) The U.S. team is "brown-bagging it" in the U.S. also, this is not in any way a China-specific issue or decision.

Yes, there are serious food issues in China. And yes, there are reasons for concern. But the posts you make have nothing whatsoever to do with reasonable, rational examination of the issues; they are blatant (and rather idiotic) attempts to exaggerate, distort, and misrepresent information in order to cast China in the worst possible light.

Of course, I've never seen you let something so insignificant as facts stop you from making unsubstantiated and erroneous claims.

 

[SteveGrenard]

Cooking may make food safe from microbial contamination but not from poisons, food additives, hormones, etc.



FOOD POISONING, DUMPLINGS - JAPAN EX CHINA


Date: 15 Feb 2008
Source: The Marine

US Govt Military Website:

http://www.okinawa.usmc.mil/Public%20Affairs%20Info/Archive%20News%20Pages/2008/080215-recall.html?subject=Opinion

Contaminated food recalled
--------------------------
Kyodo News reported 31 Jan 2008 that approximately 494 people in 38
Japanese prefectures had contracted a foodborne illness. The illness
occurred after consuming frozen "gyoza" meat and vegetable dumplings
made by Chinese distributor Hebei Foodstuff.

[U.S.] Naval Hospital officials warn consumers to throw out recalled
foods from Hebei Foodstuff. Service members who buy groceriesd
off-base may find some items in their freezer have been recalled due
to an outbreak of food-borne illness.

Japan's Health, Labour and Welfare Ministry urged companies to stop
selling and importing products from the distributor, which were
found to contain a harmful pesticide.

Edited by chillzero: 

Reduced for Rule 4

Hebei Foodstuffs facility recalled more than 20 items. Pictures of
recalled food products can be found at

http://www.jti.co.jp/JTI/attention/about_recall_20080130_2.html

[Byline: Lance Cpl. Robert C. Frenke]

 

[Wolfman]

Cooking may make food safe from microbial contamination but not from poisons, food additives, hormones, etc.

Steve,

I am now, officially, absolutely clueless as to what point you think you are making. Let me try to make this as simple as I possibly can:

1) The U.S. Olympic team is subject to exactly the same diet while they are in the U.S. that they will be subject to in China, and are also having their food specially prepared. All the athletes are subject to stringent regulations regarding what kinds of food they can or cannot eat.

So question one -- how is this a "China" issue? Why is the title of this post not, "U.S. Olympics Team Brown Bagging it in U.S."?

2) As I have pointed out several times (including a link to an article that explains this in detail), the Chinese gov't has set up numerous organic farming operations exclusively to provide food for the Olympic Athletes. This is food that uses no hormones, or other such contaminants. This food has been inspected by the IOC, and by numerous countries, and been found to be fully up to standards for 'safe' food.

The hormone-laced chicken breasts you refer to in the first post, and that you apparently cannot get out of your head, will not in any way be a part of the diet served to Olympic Athletes.

So, you are quite correct that cooking food will not get rid of hormones or other such contaminants; but that has absolutely nothing to do with this issue.

Forget about strawmen. You construct entire straw monuments.

ETA: If you wish to have a discussion of food safety issues in regards to general consumption of food in China, then the points you raise have some validity. But this lame and mindless attempt to link it to the U.S. team's decision to "brown bag it" (when, I will mention again, they are also "brown bagging" it in the U.S.), or apparently try to claim that the food Olympic athletes will get is the same as that bought at a local grocery store, are plainly just about as stupid/ignorant as any I've yet seen you raise.

 

[SteveGrenard]

I think you mislead people by saying eating Japanese food because it is sometimes served raw is not safe whereas eating Chinese food is safer because it is cooked. I wanted to point out that no amount of cooking except perhaps reduction to ash would likely destroy poisons. Yes several people a year may die in Japan from consuming raw seafood but because of natural contamination, bacterial or tetrodotoxin from improperly prepped fugu, not from insecticides. Ditto for cigueratoxin that shows up in even cooked fish occasionally. The strawman starts with you. There is no comparison between the safety record of Japanese cuisine and what's been happening in China.

Its a common misperception that cooking makes food safer...it
does, but only where bacterial contaminants are concerned. I
felt it is important to pass along this message in light of your statement. Natural and man made toxins are usually not affected by cooking.

The website from which this US Marine Corps warning article is from has the following statement:

This website is provided as a public service by the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I), Headquarters, U. S. Marine Corps, and the Marine Corps Computer & Telecommunications Activity (MCCTA), Quantico, VA.

Only public accessible information presented on the C4I websites are considered public information and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.

I apologize if this item is not public domain information and was found somehow to be copywritten. If I am correct the moderators might want to consider removing this violation from my record. Thank you.