GUANGZHOU - All the meat supplied to Asian Games venues has passed strict food quality tests to ensure it is free of clenbuterol, a prohibited anabolic agent that can have a short-term stimulant effect, Guangzhou's food and drug administration said on Friday.

The controls put in place to monitor the presence in the food have also been strengthened to minimize the risk of accidental or deliberate doping, said Lin Yongsheng, deputy director of the administration, who made the remarks at a press conference.

Clenbuterol, or shouroujing in Chinese, is added to pig feed to keep the animals lean. It can be abused by athletes to strip fat and enhance muscle size, and can have short-term stimulant effects.

The meat suppliers for the Asian Games, which also served the 2008 Beijing Olympics, were selected in a strict manner, said Lin.

Experts have been sent to make on-site examinations and take sample tests, while the transportation and storage of the meat has been carefully supervised, he said, adding every batch of the meat at the games' venues had been tested.

The canned herbal tea served at the various competition venues is also stimulant-free and safe for athletes to drink, he said.

In the city's anti-doping drive, special operations have been carried out against the illegal use of addictive drugs in Internet cafes, bars and other entertainment venues.

Supervisors are stationed in companies that produce anabolic agents and peptide hormones, and a daily reporting system is in place to ensure full control of stimulants.

Real-name registration is required for buying and selling drugs in Guangzhou that are on the list of banned stimulants, said Lin.

Thanks to a years-long crackdown on recycled cooking oil made from kitchen waste, there has been no signs showing that the oil has made its way back into restaurants in the city, he said.

To ensure food and drug safety, campaigns were conducted in fields such as dirty cooking oil, ractopamine and disposable tableware.

A total of 226 on-site teams have been working around the clock to keep tabs on the food suppliers and conduct real-time tests on the food and its delivery. Meanwhile, 28 drills have been carried out over the past three months to prepare for contingencies.

Forty hotels have been designated and 345 food and raw materials enterprises chosen to serve people attending the games. About 175 different drugs and 338 kinds of medical supplies are available for athletes.

From Nov 5, 490 tons of food and about 2,000 tons of drinks have been supplied to the Asian Games Town, venue workers and volunteers and spectators.

So far, no public health incidents have occurred at any of the venues, nor have abnormal conditions or adverse reactions resulting from the drugs and medical devices supplied, Lin said.

Some 99.08 percent of the food at the venues passed the 2,030 sample tests conducted at catering firms, he said.

China Daily