Chinese company says sent apology letter to Greeks

BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese company blamed for providing tainted dietary supplements that led to positive dope tests for 11 members of the Greek national weightlifting team has admitted to sending an apology letter to team officials, a Chinese newspaper reported.

On Monday, a Greek Weightlifting Federation official told Reuters that a Chinese company had sent an apology letter for mistakenly adding a number of banned toxic and cancer-causing substances to supplements it had provided the team for months.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, and the lawyer of suspended coach Christos Iacovou blamed the company's product for its athletes testing positive to banned substances.

An employee at Shanghai-based drug maker Auspure Biotechnology Co Ltd confirmed it had sent the letter, the Beijing News reported on Thursday.

"It is true we sent an email, but we need to wait a few days before we can respond with a public statement," the paper quoted the unnamed employee as saying.

A company employee contacted by telephone on Thursday confirmed Auspure was under investigation.

"The case is being investigated and we can only release details once it is over," the employee told Reuters.

China's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday cast doubts over the Greek allegations implicating Auspure.

China's food and drug watchdog, the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), said it was investigating the matter but reiterated the ministry's stance, the Beijing News said.