PBS高端访谈:为何美国营养标签将改造

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF:For the first time in two decades, the federal government is making significant changes to the nutrition labels on the food and drinks you buy at the store.

　　Jeffrey Brown sorts through the details and what the changes are designed to do.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:As Michelle Obama said today, unless you had a thesaurus, a microscope, a calculator, or a degree in nutrition, you were out of luck. So the new labels put forward by the Food and Drug Administration aim to reduce confusion about calories, serving sizes and more.

　　We get an explanation from William Dietz, former director for the CDC’s Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity.

　　And welcome to you.

　　I want to start with some props¹ that we have to help us, a 12-ounce bottle of soda² that used to be thought of as a single serving, and a 20-ounce bottle that is nowadays perhaps at the lower end of what people actually consume in a serving. How do the new labels deal with this growth in serving sizes?

　　DR. WILLIAM DIETZ, Former CDC Official:Well, the nutrition facts panel was originally developed about 20 to 30 years ago, at a time when servings were much smaller than they are today.

　　And the 12-ounce to the 20-ounce soda is a good illustration. Another good illustration is that ice cream used to be, a serving was half-a-cup, and, today, it’s a cup. So one of the most important changes in the nutrition facts panel is an updating of portion size.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:All right, so, now I want to show a proposed new label so we can see another way that these new labels would help. This is — this emphasizes calories, and the number of servings are given much more prominence³ here. This is to overcome some of the confusion?

　　DR. WILLIAM DIETZ: Well, twofold.

　　Yes, part of it is to overcome confusion. Part of it is to highlight the role of calories. The issue in the United States today is obesity⁴. And obesity is caused by excess calories. So highlighting the caloric content of the product is an important step towards trying to control obesity.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: There’s also in this new proposed label at least something new. It’s a separate line for sugars that are added. Now, explain what that means and why it’s important.

　　DR. WILLIAM DIETZ:Well, the last two dietary guidelines, under two different administrations, 2005 and 2010, called for a reduction in the intake⁵ of added sugars by Americans.

　　But the prior labels didn’t have added sugars on them. Furthermore, we know that sugars are an important contributor to obesity. So highlighting added sugars gives Americans an additional piece of information on how to begin to control their weight.

　　JEFFREY BROWN:In thinking about how important all of this is, what — how much is known about the degree to which people actually read these labels and are guided by them?

　　DR. WILLIAM DIETZ: Well, my understanding is that about a third of people read those nutrition facts panels today.

　　But our hope is that this will get increased use. And, as the panel becomes more helpful and to helping⁶ Americans make good decisions about their nutrition, that it will receive increasing use. But it’s certainly not be-all and end-all. People make decisions for all sorts of reasons, and nutritional⁷ content is only one of those reasons.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Also still on the table, but I gather delayed so far, are changes to labels on menus in restaurants and fast food stores. So that, of course, is another component⁸ of all of this.

　　DR. WILLIAM DIETZ: Right.

　　And, in my view, that’s a much more complicated business, because restaurants, the way they prepare their portions and their foods is going to be very hard to assign a nutrition facts panel too.

　　But, certainly, most people get their calories from those products that they buy in the grocery stores. And those products are going have the nutrition facts panel, which will enable a more educated judgment⁹ about that purchase.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: And, finally, the food industry and everyone actually gets to weigh in for — before all of this is set. Would you expect changes or delays to these proposed new labels?

　　DR. WILLIAM DIETZ:Well, I think that there’s going to be a lot of controversy¹⁰ about this.

　　The Grocery Manufacturers Association had kind of a noncommittal statement this morning about their response to these panels. But I think there’s an opportunity for both the industry and the public, most importantly the public, to respond to these changes and let the federal government know how they feel about it and whether they think this is going to be helpful.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: All right, William Dietz, thanks so much.

　　DR. WILLIAM DIETZ: You’re very welcome.

1 props   

小道具； 支柱( prop的名词复数 )； 支持者； 道具； （橄榄球中的）支柱前锋

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The government props up the prices of farm products to support farmers' incomes. 政府保持农产品价格不变以保障农民们的收入。

2 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

3 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

4 obesity   

n.肥胖，肥大

参考例句：

• One effect of overeating may be obesity.吃得过多能导致肥胖。
• Sugar and fat can more easily lead to obesity than some other foods.糖和脂肪比其他食物更容易导致肥胖。

5 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

8 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。