If China wants to up its food safety, white mice as food tasters is not the way to do it.
But an article in Shanghai Daily states that as a candidate for 2022 Winter Olympic Games, Beijing is eager to show off a wide variety of cuisines to visitors from all over the world.
But wait before serve. What about the safety of your food?
A recent survey by China Youth Daily showed that food safety has become one of the public worries, as well as one of the government’s major concerns.
As the Chinese government is making more efforts, food safety for the general public, hopefully, can be removed from the list of concerns in the years to come.
And for athletes who have higher standards for food, Beijing already has a lot of experience from hosting the 2008 Olympics to make sure their needs met.
Back in 2008, the Olympic Food Safety Action Plan was in place and Beijing also mapped out a preparedness plan to cope with any possible emergencies in food safety during the Olympic Games.
Food for athletes were produced in compliance with strict standards, delivered in a unified way and carried electronic labels recording the whole process from the producer to the eaters.
Even white mice were said to be used to test food including milk, alcohol, salad, rice, oil, salt and seasonings, 24 hours before they are used in cooking or served to athletes.