April 21, 2008	Monday	Rabi-us-Sani 14, 1429

BEIJING, April 20: Food suppliers contracted for upcoming Beijing Olympics have been asked to tighten their management procedures to ensure their products are not sabotaged before or during the Games.China’s top quality control official, Li Changjiang, (Director of General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection & Quarantine – AQSIQ) told China Daily that firms should also keep video records of their monitoring procedures for use in event of any tampering.

“The safety of Olympic food is our top priority. We must look carefully into every step of production process and be vigilant to possible sabotage,” Li said while touring Olympic food suppliers in Beijing – Guchuan Food Company, part of Beijing Grain Group & Daoxiangcun Foodstuff Company.

China’s food safety has been in international spotlight following a number of scares last year. The incidents triggered concerns about food for Beijing Olympics.

Last week, Public Security Ministry said it had discovered plans to sabotage food supplies and aware of possible terrorist attacks during Games, which added to safety concerns.

However, Li said AQSIQ had drawn up detailed plans and was confident Olympic food supplies will be 100 per cent safe. Quality control officers will be stationed at every Olympic food factory to conduct inspections, all food products carry a unique tracking code, transport vehicles equipped with GPS devices.

—Agencies