Chinese Olympic organisers yesterday criticised US athletes who are bringing their own food to the Games in Beijing this summer instead of trusting local cuisine.

Competitors are banned from importing their own food into the athletes' village under rules drawn up by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that are designed to protect the rights of sponsors such as McDonald's and to police the use of illegal substances.

The United States Olympic Committee, which will have more than 600 people in its delegation, is planning to transport its own produce because of fears about public health and food standards in China.

The athletes will eat their three daily meals at their training camp at a local university, which is outside the official confines of the Olympic Park.

“I feel it's a pity that they decided to take their own food,” Kang Yi, the head of the food division for the Beijing Olympic organising committee, said. “We have made lots of preparations to ensure that the athletes can get together at the Olympic Games.”

The athletes' village will house about 17,000 athletes and officials during the 16-day event in Beijing, serving up to 6,000 meals simultaneously in several restaurants round the clock.

It is standard practice for delegations to eat the food prepared by the contract caterer, in this case Aramark, a Fortune 500 company based in Philadelphia. The British Olympic Association said that it would not be taking food for its 270 athletes. The party will include one nutritionist who will work with local chefs to prepare the team's meals.

Other countries are understood to be considering plans to cater their own food after a series of public health scares in China. Chinese-made dumplings contaminated by pesticides made thousands of Japanese ill last month.

Tang Yunhua, a spokeswoman for the Beijing Municipal Office for Food Safety, said: “The standards for Olympic food safety are much more strict than international standards.”

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