By James Reynolds

BBC News, Beijing



The US delegation has said it is planning to bring its own food for American athletes.

At a news conference in Beijing, a senior official, Kang Yi, said it was a pity that the US had apparently decided not to trust China's food.

Ms Kang insisted that the food served to athletes at the Olympics would exceed international health standards.

For China, a good Olympic Games means cheering spectators, record-breaking performances and athletes and fans all sitting down to enjoy some good Chinese-made food.

But the US is not so sure about the food part, and plans to import its own meat and cook its own meals for its athletes when they get to Beijing.

Ms Kang and her colleagues were asked about the allegation that chickens on sale here are so full of hormones that athletes would test positive for steroids if they were to eat them.

There is no scientific evidence for this, insisted Lu Yong, who runs Beijing's municipal food safety monitoring centre.