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食品安全指食品无毒、无害，符合应当有的营养要求，对人体健康不造成任何急性、亚急性或者慢性危害。近年来食品安全问题受到越来越多国家的普遍关注，这一问题与我们的生命健康息息相关，而许多不法分子则在经济利益的驱动下违反食品安全标准的规定，生产加工出有害身体健康的食品，严重损害了公众的利益。下面我们就来聊聊食品安全问题。
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.
根据世界卫生组织(World Health Organization，简称WHO)的定义，食品安全(food safty)是“食物中有毒、有害物质对人体健康影响的公共卫生(public hygiene)问题”。食品安全也是一门专门探讨在食品加工(food processing)、存储(storage)、销售(distribution)等过程中确保食品卫生及食用安全，降低疾病隐患(disease risk)，防范食物中毒(food poisoning)的一个跨学科领域。
根据1962年食品法典委员会（Codex Alimentarius Commission,简称CAC）对食品添加剂的定义，食品添加剂(food additives)是指：在食品制造、加工、调整、处理、包装、运输、保管的过程中，为达到技术目的而添加的物质。食品添加剂作为辅助成分(Auxiliary components)可直接或间接成为食品成分，但不能影响食品的特性，是不含污染物并不以改善食品营养(nutrition)为目的的物质。
Quality and safety are the foundations of social harmony.
质量和安全是社会和谐的基石。
The poll found gender, racial and economic gaps on attitudes about food safety.
调查发现有关食品安全问题的态度，存在性别、种族与经济方面的歧视。
And the number of tainted batches accounted for 14.05 percent of the total batches tested.
受污染批次占受检总批次的14.05%。
40% of man said they were “very confident” that the food they buy is safe.
40%的男性称他们对所购买的食品安全性很有信心。
Product safety-and especially food quality-is becoming a pressing concern.
产品安全——尤其是食品安全，正成为一个紧迫的问题。
Nearly 92 percent of the 3000 respondents said they were worried about food safety.
在3 000名被调查者中，近92%的人对食品安全感到忧虑。
Authorities have sealed the problematic milk powder products, or removed them from store shelves and recalled all those sold.
目前，政府已经对问题奶粉进行封存，上市奶粉立即下架， 已经售出的全部收回。
Safe powder milk products will continue to be sole on market to ensure enough supply, according to the State Council.
国务院发布的消息称，为保证足够的市场供应，允许那些没有问题的奶粉产品继续在市场上销售。
The food safety scandal has engulfed the whole country.
食品安全问题已经席卷了全国。
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.
国家质量监督检验检疫总局表示，在一项专项检查中，一共测试了中国109所厂家生产的491个批次的婴儿奶粉。
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%的受访者称农产品应该贴标签， 这样才能够进行逐层追踪，追溯处理者、包装者、运输方，最后追踪到农场。
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.
由于受污染土豆的惊吓，近一半美国人担心自己可能因食用受污染的食物而致病，并避免购买原来通常购买的食物。
If more are needed for imports and domestic produce, 70% said the cost should be covered through fees on industry.
如果进口农产品与国内农产品需要更多的检测人员， 70%的受访者表示成本可以通过行业收费解决。
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.
我们生活在一个科技时代，连一根香蕉也可以打上条形码。我们应该与行业一起完成这项工作，提出一些合理的东西。消费者越有信心，才会购买更多商品。
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%的受访者表示他们担心由于食用污染食品而致病， 并称由于安全警告， 他们放弃了一些原来常常购买的食品。29%的人会比以前提前扔掉食品，14%的人已经把食品退还商店。
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?
亚当：中国加入世贸组织以后，食品市场和农产品市场无疑会面临一场巨变。从卫生部的角度来看，中国食品工业现在所面临的主要问题是什么？
Mike: A new national concern involves misleading claims by China's growing health food industry.
麦克：发展中的中国保健食品业存在着一些误导性言论，这是一个引起全国性关注的新问题。
Adam: Many health foods advertise they can cure diseases.
亚当：许多保健食品广告都声称这些保健食品可以治愈各种疾病。
Mike: But these claims often lack scientific basis or regulatory approval.
麦克： 但是这些言论通常不是缺乏科学依据就是没有得到有关部门的认可。
Adam: What other areas of concern in the food industry is MOH focusing on?
亚当：在食品工业的其他领域，卫生部所关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.
麦克：卫生部长期以来关心的另一个问题是食品卫生标准。食品受污染的报道已经为国内食品的安全性亮起了红灯。
Adam: I remember the public outrage when it was discovered that one company had recycled year-old stuffing in its moon cakes for sale.
亚当：我记得有一次某公司使用前一年的旧陷制作月饼在市场上销售。至今，我还能记起此事被曝光时人们是何等气愤。
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.
麦克：的确如此。其他有关污染大米和病鸡的报道也激起了公愤。同时，这类被大力宣传的事件对食品市场产生了深远的负面影响。就拿月饼事件来说，虽然仅有一个不法公司被曝光，但这个事件之后整个月饼市场的销售额急剧下降。
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?
亚当： 像这种对食品安全的恐惧，真的有可能削弱公众对食品市场的信任。但它们是孤立的个别事件呢，还是反映了中国食品工业更为普遍存在的问题？
Mike: In fact, there have been significant improvements over the past two decades. Now close to 90% of domestic-made food passes hygienic standards.
麦克： 事实上， 这种情况在过去的二十年里已经取得了很大的改进。现在有将近90%的国内食品通过了卫生标准。
Adam: What about the remaining 10%? What are the main problems?
亚当：但是剩余的10%应该怎么处理呢？主要问题是什么呢？
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.
麦克： 农产品可能会有农药残留， 这对人体健康构成一种威胁。另外，农民饲养家畜时， 使用过量的添加剂或是给它们注射禁用的兽药。这些做法能提高产量，但对人体却是有害的。
Adam: The profit motive must be hard to overcome.
亚当：经济利益的驱动是个很难解决的问题。
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.
麦克：有些食品生产商只是忽略了使用化肥和饲料的潜在危险，但其他一些人考虑的主要是经济利益而不是保证消费者的安全。新法律规定实行更严格的标准，加大了罚款力度，这或许会让这些不法分子三思而后行。
Adam: Who's responsible for the enforcement of food hygiene standards?
亚当：那么谁来负责执行食品卫生标准呢？
Mike: Multiple government departments and agencies have responsibility in this area, which can lead to enforcement problems by itself.
麦克： 多个政府部门和机构都有这方面的职责。但是，这样做本身也会导致一些执行方面的问题。
Adam: So what should be done?
亚当： 那么该怎么办呢？
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.
麦克：考虑到效率和效力，人们呼吁建立一个单独的机构，从农场到饭桌一揽子监督食品的安全卫生问题。
Adam: It sounds as if you've given these issues a lot of serious attention and are really getting a handle on the problem.
亚当：从您的谈话里可以看出，您对这些问题已经做了认真的考虑并且抓住了问题的关键。
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.
麦克：在处理阻碍中国食品工业发展的问题上， 我们确实已经取得了很大的进步。我们也有信心在不久的将来把我国食品工业提高到国际水平。