White mice are to take part in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing

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Mice star as Olympic food tasters

Beijing 2008

China is determined the Olympic Games will pass off smoothly

White mice are to take part in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing -

their task to protect international athletes from food poisoning.

 

The mice will be fed milk, alcohol, salad, rice, oil and seasonings,

the city's health inspectors said.

 

Mice show adverse reactions within 17 hours, while laboratory tests

take much longer, they said.

 

Poor hygiene in food handling and low standards in distribution have

made food poisoning rife in China.

 

The move is part of the huge effort the Chinese are making to ensure

the showpiece event passes off smoothly.

 

24-hour guard

 

All the food and ingredients to be prepared in Olympic kitchens will

fed to the mice a day before they are served to athletes, state news

agency Xinhua quoted Zhao Xinsheng of the Beijing Municipal Health

Inspection Bureau as saying.

 

Infected food can then be traced and destroyed in time.

 

More than 10,000 competitors will be staying at the athletes' village

during the Games.

 

The kitchens will also have 24-hour guards, storage will be constantly

monitored and transportation will have global positioning systems.

 

Zhen Xiaozhen, of the Beijing Organising Committee of the Olympic

Games, said the food served would be Western, complemented by Chinese

dishes.

 

The BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Beijing says nothing is being allowed

to stand in the way of the perfect Olympics.

 

Stray cats and dogs will vanish from the streets, he says, and

anti-aircraft guns, small planes and rockets will be used to disperse

rain clouds, ensuring there will be blue skies over Beijing for the

duration.