Mega food service corporation Sodexo Live is accused of feeding the world’s Olympic athletes substandard food at the 2024 games in Paris. Athletes claim it’s so bad they’ve been served fish with worms in it.
The allegation first came from British swimmer Adam Peaty who was unhappy with the quality and selection on offer from the French catering firm. He said fellow competitors had told him they found “worms in the fish.” So far, no one has produced photo or video evidence to back up this claim.
Sodexo Live is fighting back, claiming their food is perfectly safe, and pointing out that there has been no evidence to back up extreme claims of terrible food. The company also says it has not received complaints from Olympic athletes directly.
The National Olympics Committee is also unhappy to hear the allegations. They say they have worked for more than a year with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to develop an extensive menu for the Olympic Village’s dining hall. More than 550 different dishes are apparently on offer.
“We always listen to the athletes,” said the committee, and treats complaints seriously.
Feeding the competitors is big business. There are 15,000 athletes from around the world competing in this year’s games and staying in the Olympic Village. Sodexo Live serves 40,000 meals a day to keep them going, as well as snacks during events and food for fans and attendees.
While it is not clear whether there is any merit to the food complaints—they do seem to be closer to gossip than serious complaints—swimmers, at least, have something legitimate to carp about. The river Seine, which bisects Paris, has been off-limits for swimming since 1923 due to its high pollution. But this year, some swimming events were scheduled in the dirty river after a huge clean-up effort.
But it didn’t work. At least three Olympic athletes have been put into the hospital with E. coli bacteria contamination.
