Winter Olympics trivia: Why is pepper being left out of meals prepared for athletes at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games?

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games will provide 678 dish varieties for participating athletes. The standards according to which the dishes will be cooked are very high and strict, with a total of more than 50 commonly used spices, such as pepper and bay leaves, having been left out of the meals.

The reason for this precaution is that these spices contain Higenamine, a kind of food stimulant. According to their chemical structure and properties, food stimulants are mainly divided into four categories: glucocorticoids, steroids, zeranol and Beta2 adrenergic receptor agonists. Higenamine, which can be tested in pepper, is a Beta2 adrenergic receptor agonist, a substance that is strictly banned in sports.

Experts explained that there are two types of food stimulants – endogenous stimulants and exogenous stimulants. Foods containing endogenous stimulants won’t harm people’s health when they consume a normal amount of such foods, because only a small amount of such chemicals can be found in these foods.

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