VOA慢速英语2013 农业报道 - 美国出台新规定提升食品安全（在线收听）

Agriculture Report - New Rules Aim to Improve US Food Safety

农业报道 - 美国出台新规定提升食品安全

From VOA Learning English, this is the Agriculture Report in Special English.

这里是美国之音慢速英语农业报道。

Each year, bad food sickens about one in six Americans. Proposed new rules aim to improve food safety. Officials say the changes could prevent more than one million cases of food-related illnesses each year.

每年有1/6的美国人因为吃了变质食物生病。拟议中的新规定旨在提升食品安全。有关官员表示，这一变化可以预防每年发生的超过100万例与食品相关的疾病。

The new rules were proposed this month, exactly two years after President Obama signed the Food Safety Modernization Act. The rules are the first step in putting the law into effect, making the biggest changes in food safety since the 1930s.

这一新规定是在本月，也就是奥巴马总统签署《食品安全现代化法案》整整两年之后提出的。它是《食品安全现代化法案》付诸实施的第一步，也是上世纪30年代以来食品安全上的最大变化。

The law makes the Food and Drug Administration responsible for preventing foodborne illnesses. Experts say this is a change from the role that the FDA has played in the past in reacting to disease outbreaks.

该法案确定美国食品和药品管理局（简称FDA）对预防食源性疾病负责。专家称，这是美国食品和药品管理局从过去应对疾病爆发所扮演的角色上的转变。

Congress passed the law after a series of outbreaks linked to bagged spinach, peanut butter and other foods. Margaret Hamburg is commissioner of the FDA.

美国国会在一系列与袋装菠菜、花生酱和其它食物有关的疾病爆发之后通过了该法案。玛格丽特·汉伯格（Margaret Hamburg）是美国食品和药品管理局局长。

They occurred because of problems that would have been addressed by these kinds of approaches. So I think, you know, we’re very optimistic that we will begin to see real change.”

她说，“这一规定的出台是因为通过这类措施原本可以解决问题。所以我们对将开始看到真正的改变持非常乐观的态度。”

The agency is proposing to require food manufacturers to show that they have identified where contamination is most likely to happen. Manufacturers would also have to show that they have taken steps to prevent it. The proposed rules also deal with safety in growing and harvesting fruits and vegetables.

该机构打算要求食品制造商表明自己已经确定污染最有可能发生的环节。制造商还需要表明他们已经采取了预防措施。拟议中的规定还涉及了水果和蔬菜的种植和收获中的安全问题。

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that establishing all of the provisions of the law will cost the government $1.4 billion. The Grocery Manufacturers of America, an industry group, has not released an estimate of what it will cost producers.

美国国会预算办公室估计，确立该法案的全部条款需要耗费政府14亿美元。美国食品加工产业协会这一行业组织尚未发布制造商需要耗费的估算成本。

But FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor says the new rules are worth the price.

但美国食品和药品管理局副局长迈克尔·泰勒（Michael Taylor）表示，新规定的代价是值得的。

“Even if you just look at estimated reductions in illness, but if you also take into account avoiding disruption of the food supply and the loss of confidence in those commodities by consumers, so I think we’ll see that the benefits substantially outweigh the costs of implementation.”

“即使你只是看看疾病的估计减少量（新规定也物有所值）。如果你还考虑到避免食品供应中断，以及消费者对这些商品信心的丧失，那么我们就会看到好处要远远超过其实施成本。”

Caroline Smith-DeWaal is director for food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. She says the rules should have been released a year ago.

卡罗琳·史密斯-德瓦尔（Caroline Smith-DeWaal）是美国公共利益科学中心食品安全部门的主管。她表示，这些规定一年前就该发布了。

“We’re really happy that the new rules have come out. They’re a little late.”

“我们对新规定的出台非常高兴。它们来得稍微晚了些。”

And she notes that they are not finished.

她还指出新规定尚不完善。

“The bigger question is, where are the rules on imports that haven’t been released yet?”

“更重要的问题是，有关进口的规定尚未公布，它们在哪里呢？”

The FDA says about 15 percent of food eaten by Americans is imported, and that share is growing. Rules have not been released yet to require imported foods to meet the same standards as food produced in the United States. But the agency says they are coming soon.

美国食品和药品管理局表示，美国人所食用的15%的食品来自进口，而且这一份额正在不断扩大。美国尚未公布规定要求进口食品需要满足和美国食品制造商相同标准。但该机构表示这一规定会很快出台。

The rules released this month will not go into effect for more than a year. Final versions will be announced after the agency considers public comments. And experts point out that Congress will need to approve money to enforce the new rules.