Managing animals is a much more difficult task. "From feeding, disease-prevention, to the butcher, we have to adopt more technologies to manage them," said Shi Yinsong, who works in the Marketing Department of Kingkey Group, the pork supplier to the Beijing Olympics. Everyday, a professional nutritionist mixes feed for the pigs, every ingredient of which is totally organic.

The animals' shelters are equipped with monitors that alert staff to any unusual situations and record digital data on the livestock.

All livestock has been implanted with a radio frequency identification (RFID) to record information on its origin and growing process. Each animal's RFID is unique. After an animal is killed, it is given a new identification number that records its butchery information. When the animal's meat is cut into pieces, each piece is given yet another identification code, allowing consumers to check information about it at machines in the supermarket.

This system is capable of controlling the quality of food from the production base to the processing factory and finally the Olympic Village. The Beijing Food Safety Office has already established a data center for the Olympic Village and food data can also be checked at other supermarkets around the city.

The safety checking system was put into use during the Good Luck Beijing competitions last year. Beijing has also set up the food safety monitoring system in both Chinese and English.

"In order to ensure food safety during the Olympics, administrative organs at all levels will implement the monitoring system to track the whole circulation process of the food," said Sun Wenxu, Director of the Consumers' Rights and Interests Protection Bureau of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce. Sun added that major measures to ensure food safety include monitoring food processing from the source to the Olympic Village and formulating food safety regulations for 345 species of Olympic food.

During the Olympics, when athletes enter a restaurant in the Olympic Village, the access control system will automatically identify them and record the vegetables they choose. If there are problems with the vegetables, their digital records will identify them.