Mice as first line of defense

last updated 8 January 2015

Beijing

Athletes at the 2008 Olympics won’t have to worry about food poisoning—but they’ll have one less excuse for failing drug tests. Beijing health authorities said this week they will test food in the Olympic compound by feeding the ingredients to mice 24 hours before they are served to humans. Since much of the poultry and other livestock sold in Chinese markets are given feed laced with hormones, athletes who eat those animals could fail doping tests. But mice are so sensitive to the hormones that officials will be able to quickly tell if food is contaminated so it can be removed before it is consumed. As a further precaution, the Chinese Doping Control Center has ordered the Olympic Committee to set strict standards for food suppliers about the feed they use.