Sign of the times: Alonso will only eat certain foods while on race duty in China
Fernando Alonso has revealed extreme precautions he is taking not to fall foul of drug testers amid concerns that Chinese meat contains traces of the banned steroid clenbuterol.
While McLaren’s driver Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have been told their team are ‘not taking any extra steps’ to safeguard them against eating potentially contaminated food, Alonso is taking no chances and away from Ferrari’s kitchen at the Shanghai International Circuit will only be consuming rice boiled in mineral water along with energy bars.
Concerns have been raised about the use of clenbuterol in Chinese food production to boost the growth of cows, pigs and chickens while German anti-doping doctors have also advised against consuming local eggs and milk.
Last month, the country’s largest meat processor, Shuanghui Group, was forced to apologise when some of its pork products were found to contain clenbuterol.
The steroid is the same as that detected in cyclist Alberto Contador’s blood stream. The Tour de France winner claims he ingested the drug unwittingly via a piece of contaminated beef.
There has also even been suggestions that food from the Shanghai area could have become contaminated with radiation from the Fukushima nuclear power plant explosion in Japan although trace elements discovered on Chinese soil are of such a low level to be no risk to human health.
The majority of Formula One teams are understood to have taken a more relaxed approach to their food supplies although Williams have shipped in products from Australia.
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