Chen Hailong, 42, has hardly changed his routine since Lufulong Vegetable Corp, a designated food supplier for the Beijing Games, hired him two years ago.

He is aware of the sports gala's importance to the whole nation, and at the same time, his contribution to it.

"I know how to grow organic vegetables. I eat them and I assure you everything is safe - come inspect any time," Chen said yesterday.

He dismissed a foreign reporter's question as to whether he is worried about having to keep produce up to the required safety standards.

"No extra measures are required to ensure safe vegetables," he said.

Lufulong is based in Yanqing district, a suburb of Beijing. Seminars on how to grow organic vegetables are normally held three to four times a month. Now, the same number is being held every week.

The firm's managing director Zhang Huichen said no pesticides or herbicides are used. It produces 20 tons of various kinds of vegetables each day.

"More than 20 types of vegetable seeds have been imported to suit the tastes of foreign athletes. On average, our vegetables cost twice as much as those on the market.

"After the Games, they will be supplied to supermarkets and be exported to the United States and other places," Zhang said.

Less than half of the fresh agricultural produce to be supplied to the Games will be from Beijing, municipal agricultural bureau spokeswoman, Liu Yaqing, said. Hebei, Shandong and Tianjin will also contribute. In all three regions agricultural land was especially set aside in 2005 for the Games.

In Beijing, 13 cattle stations, 24 vegetable farms, four orchards and three aquatic centers were established to supply the Olympic Village and hotels.

A liability system was set up under which designated suppliers shoulder the main responsibilities, district governments are in charge of overall operations, and municipal authorities play a supervisory role.

"There will be no chemical residues in any Beijing-produced vegetables," Tao Zhiqiang, who is in charge of looking after vegetable safety, said.

"Production areas will provide safe produce for the Olympics," he said.

"It is our commitment and objective to offer the best to athletes and guests from all over the world."