外國人最想和你聊的時(shí)事話題：食品安全
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What is food safety 什么是食品安全
The food safety refers to the public security issue that the food containing toxic or harmful ingredients affects human health. In recent years, these problems remain serious in the market. Food born diseases remain responsible for high levels of sickness and mortality in the general population, particularly for the risk groups, such as infants, young children, and the elderly. The most notorious case involved low quality milk powder in Fuyang, in east China's Anhui Province, which caused the death of a dozen of babies. The responsibility goes for the most part to the food producers especially those who fail to meet safety standards. In order to sell more products, some food producers may even intentionally use various chemicals, such as pesticides, animal drugs etc. during manufacturing and processing just to make food look or taste good without taking people's life into consideration.As we all know, food additives and contaminants can adversely affect health. In this regard, in order to reduce the incidence and economic consequences of food born diseases, the supervision of food production should be stepped up. What's more, it is important to drastically increase penalties on those who neglect food safety statutes. Besides, the Food Safety Department in our country should educate consumers about the risks presented in food and the safe food handling behaviors that can help minimize those risks.
Chinese lawmakers passed new food-safety legislation meant to tighten supervision of manufacturers and impose tougher penalties on those who make bad products as the government seeks to restore public confidence after a spate of problems with tainted food. The new law, approved by the standing committee of the National People's Congress after years of drafting and revision, also sets up a system to recall problem products and authorizes the enforcement of uniform nationwide standards for everything from allowable additives to nutritional labeling.
In 2008, six children were killed and nearly 300,000 others were sickened after being fed milk powder that had been adulterated with melamine, a toxic industrial chemical. Melamine contamination of dairy products was discovered to be widespread. Farmers and traders had added it to raw milk to fool quality tests. How effectively China maintains the safety of its food supply is also increasingly important to consumers in other countries as Chinese ingredients end up in foodstuffs sold around the world. Between 2004 and 2007, Chinese food exports climbed about 63%. United Nations public-health experts called for an overhaul of China's food-safety system, saying that the country's"disjointed" approach and reliance on a patchwork of various local and national government agencies to police the food supply had contributed to troubles such as the melamine adulteration.
The law aims to streamline regulation, in part by creating a national food-safety commission to coordinate work by other government agencies, and by reducing the number of agencies involved. But responsibility for developing standards and enforcing them will remain split among various ministries. Food safety consistently ranks among the top concerns of Chinese citizens in opinion polls. The government and ruling Communist Party are eager to be seen as protecting the food supply, in the face of regular and well-publicized problems.
Under the new law, which takes effect on June 1, companies that produce substandard products will face higher fine. Those whose licenses are revoked because of illegal conduct will be banned from food manufacturing for five years. Companies also will be legally liable for any harm they cause consumers. Celebrities that endorse faulty products also can be held liable under the new law. Other provisions of the law require farmers to adhere to safety rules governing the use of pesticides, fertilizers, veterinary drugs and feed additives in growing crops and raising animals. Farmers will also be required to keep detailed records on raising crops and livestock for human consumption.
根據(jù)世界衛(wèi)生組織(World Health Organization，簡稱WHO)的定義，食品安全(food safty)是"食物中有毒、有害物質(zhì)對人體健康影響的公共衛(wèi)生(public hygiene)問題"。食品安全也是一門專門探討在食品加工(food processing)、存儲(storage)、銷售(distribution)等過程中確保食品衛(wèi)生及食用安全，降低疾病隱患(disease risk)，防范食物中毒(food poisoning)的一個(gè)跨學(xué)科領(lǐng)域。
根據(jù)1962年食品法典委員會（Codex Alimentarius Commission,簡稱CAC）對食品添加劑的定義，食品添加劑(food additives)是指：在食品制造、加工、調(diào)整、處理、包裝、運(yùn)輸、保管的過程中，為達(dá)到技術(shù)目的而添加的物質(zhì)。食品添加劑作為輔助成分(Auxiliary components)可直接或間接成為食品成分，但不能影響食品的特性，是不含污染物并不以改善食品營養(yǎng)(nutrition)為目的的物質(zhì)。
Quality and safety are the foundations of social harmony.
質(zhì)量和安全是社會和諧的基石。
The poll found gender, racial and economic gaps on attitudes about food safety.
調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)有關(guān)食品安全問題的態(tài)度，存在性別、種族與經(jīng)濟(jì)方面的歧視。
And the number of tainted batches accounted for 14.05 percent of the total batches tested.
受污染批次占受檢總批次的14.05%。
40% of man said they were "very confident" that the food they buy is safe.
40%的男性稱他們對所購買的食品安全性很有信心。
Product safety-and especially food quality-is becoming a pressing concern.
產(chǎn)品安全--尤其是食品安全，正成為一個(gè)緊迫的問題。
Nearly 92 percent of the 3000 respondents said they were worried about food safety.
在3 000名被調(diào)查者中，近92%的人對食品安全感到憂慮。
Authorities have sealed the problematic milk powder products, or removed them from store shelves and recalled all those sold.
目前，政府已經(jīng)對問題奶粉進(jìn)行封存，上市奶粉立即下架， 已經(jīng)售出的全部收回。
Safe powder milk products will continue to be sole on market to ensure enough supply, according to the State Council.
國務(wù)院發(fā)布的消息稱，為保證足夠的市場供應(yīng)，允許那些沒有問題的奶粉產(chǎn)品繼續(xù)在市場上銷售。
The food safety scandal has engulfed the whole country.
食品安全問題已經(jīng)席卷了全國。
The State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said it had tested 491 batches of baby milk powder produced by all the 109 companies in China in a special inspection move.
國家質(zhì)量監(jiān)督檢驗(yàn)檢疫總局表示，在一項(xiàng)專項(xiàng)檢查中，一共測試了中國109所廠家生產(chǎn)的491個(gè)批次的嬰兒奶粉。
Eighty-six percent said produce should be labeled so it can be tracked through layers of processors, packers and shippers, all the way back to the farm.
86%的受訪者稱農(nóng)產(chǎn)品應(yīng)該貼標(biāo)簽， 這樣才能夠進(jìn)行逐層追蹤，追溯處理者、包裝者、運(yùn)輸方，最后追蹤到農(nóng)場。
Troubled by the tainted potato scare, nearly half of Americans are concerned they may get sick from eating contaminated food and are avoiding items they normally would buy.
由于受污染土豆的驚嚇，近一半美國人擔(dān)心自己可能因食用受污染的食物而致病，并避免購買原來通常購買的食物。
If more are needed for imports and domestic produce, 70% said the cost should be covered through fees on industry.
如果進(jìn)口農(nóng)產(chǎn)品與國內(nèi)農(nóng)產(chǎn)品需要更多的檢測人員， 70%的受訪者表示成本可以通過行業(yè)收費(fèi)解決。
We live in an age of technology where you can bar-code a banana. We've got to work this through with the industry and come up with something that's reasonable. The more confidence consumers have, the more goods they will purchase.
我們生活在一個(gè)科技時(shí)代，連一根香蕉也可以打上條形碼。我們應(yīng)該與行業(yè)一起完成這項(xiàng)工作，提出一些合理的東西。消費(fèi)者越有信心，才會購買更多商品。
Forty-six percent said they were worried they might get sick from eating contaminated food and that they have avoided foods because of safety warnings that they normally would have purchased. 29% have thrown out food earlier than usual and 14%have returned food to the store.
46%的受訪者表示他們擔(dān)心由于食用污染食品而致病， 并稱由于安全警告， 他們放棄了一些原來常常購買的食品。29%的人會比以前提前扔掉食品，14%的人已經(jīng)把食品退還商店。
Adam: With China's entry into WTO, its food and agriculture markets are sure to face a shake-up. From the Ministry of Health's perspective, what are the major issues facing China's food industry today?
亞當(dāng)：中國加入世貿(mào)組織以后，食品市場和農(nóng)產(chǎn)品市場無疑會面臨一場巨變。從衛(wèi)生部的角度來看，中國食品工業(yè)現(xiàn)在所面臨的主要問題是什么？
Mike: A new national concern involves misleading claims by China's growing health food industry.
麥克：發(fā)展中的中國保健食品業(yè)存在著一些誤導(dǎo)性言論，這是一個(gè)引起全國性關(guān)注的新問題。
Adam: Many health foods advertise they can cure diseases.
亞當(dāng)：許多保健食品廣告都聲稱這些保健食品可以治愈各種疾病。
Mike: But these claims often lack scientific basis or regulatory approval.
麥克： 但是這些言論通常不是缺乏科學(xué)依據(jù)就是沒有得到有關(guān)部門的認(rèn)可。
Adam: What other areas of concern in the food industry is MOH focusing on?
亞當(dāng)：在食品工業(yè)的其他領(lǐng)域，衛(wèi)生部所關(guān)注的是些什么事情呢？
Mike: Along-standing concern involves food hygiene standards. Reports of contaminated food products have raised the red flag on domestic food safety.
麥克：衛(wèi)生部長期以來關(guān)心的另一個(gè)問題是食品衛(wèi)生標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。食品受污染的報(bào)道已經(jīng)為國內(nèi)食品的安全性亮起了紅燈。
Adam: I remember the public outrage when it was discovered that one company had recycled year-old stuffing in its moon cakes for sale.
亞當(dāng)：我記得有一次某公司使用前一年的舊陷制作月餅在市場上銷售。至今，我還能記起此事被曝光時(shí)人們是何等氣憤。
Mike: Yes, and there have been other reports of contaminated rice and infected chickens. Well-publicized incidents like these can have a far-reaching negative impact on the food market. In the case of the moon cakes, for example, only one unscrupulous company was involved. But the whole moon cake market suffered a sharp drop in sales.
麥克：的確如此。其他有關(guān)污染大米和病雞的報(bào)道也激起了公憤。同時(shí)，這類被大力宣傳的事件對食品市場產(chǎn)生了深遠(yuǎn)的負(fù)面影響。就拿月餅事件來說，雖然僅有一個(gè)不法公司被曝光，但這個(gè)事件之后整個(gè)月餅市場的銷售額急劇下降。
Adam: Food safety scares like those can really undermine public confidence. But are they just isolated incidents, or do they reflect a broader problem in China's food industry?
亞當(dāng)： 像這種對食品安全的恐懼，真的有可能削弱公眾對食品市場的信任。但它們是孤立的個(gè)別事件呢，還是反映了中國食品工業(yè)更為普遍存在的問題？
Mike: In fact, there have been significant improvements over the past two decades. Now close to 90% of domestic-made food passes hygienic standards.
麥克： 事實(shí)上， 這種情況在過去的二十年里已經(jīng)取得了很大的改進(jìn)?，F(xiàn)在有將近90%的國內(nèi)食品通過了衛(wèi)生標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。
Adam: What about the remaining 10%? What are the main problems?
亞當(dāng)：但是剩余的10%應(yīng)該怎么處理呢？主要問題是什么呢？
Mike: Farm produce may contain traces of chemical pesticides that pose a treat to human health. In addition, farmers may feed their livestock excessive additives or inject them with banned veterinary medicines. These things make them more productive-but are also toxic to humans.
麥克： 農(nóng)產(chǎn)品可能會有農(nóng)藥殘留， 這對人體健康構(gòu)成一種威脅。另外，農(nóng)民飼養(yǎng)家畜時(shí)， 使用過量的添加劑或是給它們注射禁用的獸藥。這些做法能提高產(chǎn)量，但對人體卻是有害的。
Adam: The profit motive must be hard to overcome.
亞當(dāng)：經(jīng)濟(jì)利益的驅(qū)動是個(gè)很難解決的問題。
Mike: Well, some food producers are just ignorant of the hazards in the fertilizers and feed they're using. But others are more concerned about profits than they are about consumer protection. The new laws might make them think twice by imposing tougher standards and stiffer fines.
麥克：有些食品生產(chǎn)商只是忽略了使用化肥和飼料的潛在危險(xiǎn)，但其他一些人考慮的主要是經(jīng)濟(jì)利益而不是保證消費(fèi)者的安全。新法律規(guī)定實(shí)行更嚴(yán)格的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，加大了罰款力度，這或許會讓這些不法分子三思而后行。
Adam: Who's responsible for the enforcement of food hygiene standards?
亞當(dāng)：那么誰來負(fù)責(zé)執(zhí)行食品衛(wèi)生標(biāo)準(zhǔn)呢？
Mike: Multiple government departments and agencies have responsibility in this area, which can lead to enforcement problems by itself.
麥克： 多個(gè)政府部門和機(jī)構(gòu)都有這方面的職責(zé)。但是，這樣做本身也會導(dǎo)致一些執(zhí)行方面的問題。
Adam: So what should be done?
亞當(dāng)： 那么該怎么辦呢？
Mike: There has been a call for a single agency that would oversee food products "from farm to table"-for the sake of efficiency as well as effectiveness.
麥克：考慮到效率和效力，人們呼吁建立一個(gè)單獨(dú)的機(jī)構(gòu)，從農(nóng)場到飯桌一攬子監(jiān)督食品的安全衛(wèi)生問題。
Adam: It sounds as if you've given these issues a lot of serious attention and are really getting a handle on the problem.
亞當(dāng)：從您的談話里可以看出，您對這些問題已經(jīng)做了認(rèn)真的考慮并且抓住了問題的關(guān)鍵。
Mike: We have indeed made a lot of progress in addressing the problems that impede and hinder progress in China's food industry. We are confident of bringing the domestic food industry up to international standards in the not-too-distant future.
麥克：在處理阻礙中國食品工業(yè)發(fā)展的問題上， 我們確實(shí)已經(jīng)取得了很大的進(jìn)步。我們也有信心在不久的將來把我國食品工業(yè)提高到國際水平。
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