VOA健康报道2023 在食品中添加芝麻引起争议（在线收听）

在食品中添加芝麻引起争议

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently said that by law food makers are permitted to add sesame to their products.

美国食品药品监督管理局最近表示，法律允许食品制造商在他们的产品中添加芝麻。

They also must identify sesame content in their foods on product packaging.

他们还必须在产品包装上标明食品中的芝麻含量。

Sesame is the seed of the sesamum or benne plant.

芝麻是芝麻属植物的种子。

It is used to make oil and the seeds themselves are often used on bread or baked goods.

它被用来制油，种子本身也经常被用来制作面包及其他烘焙食品。

The seeds come in black and white colors.

芝麻种子有黑白两种颜色。

Sesame is used in many foods to add a nutty flavor or some crunch.

芝麻被用在许多食物中，以增加坚果味或一些嘎吱声。

But the American non-profit group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), says about 1.6 million people are allergic to the seeds.

但美国非营利性组织公共利益科学中心表示，约有160万人对芝麻过敏。

Someone who is allergic can get very sick after eating the seeds.

过敏的人在吃了芝麻后可能会很不舒服。

People with the allergy usually learn to stay away from traditional foods that contain sesame.

对芝麻过敏的人通常会学会远离含有芝麻的传统食物。

The CSPI is protesting to the FDA about a law that went into effect in January.

公共利益科学中心正在就一项于1月份生效的法律向美国食品药品监督管理局提出抗议。

The Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act, known as FASTER, listed sesame as a major allergen requiring identification on packaging for the first time.

《食品过敏安全、治疗、教育和研究法案》首次将芝麻列为主要过敏原，要求在包装上进行标识。

Some food companies made changes to their production centers in reaction to the new law.

作为对新法律的回应，一些食品公司对其生产中心进行了调整。

Some cut sesame use completely.

有的公司彻底减少芝麻的使用量。

Others, however, decided to add sesame to products that did not usually contain it.

然而，其他公司决定在通常不含芝麻的产品中添加芝麻。

As long as they identified the sesame on the food packaging, they were obeying the law fully.

只要他们确认在食品包装上标明了此产品含有芝麻，他们就完全遵守了法律。

The CSPI and other organizations argue that adding sesame to foods that did not contain it in the past limits food choices for allergic people.

公共利益科学中心和其他组织认为，在过去不含芝麻的食物中添加芝麻限制了过敏人群的食物选择。

Some food companies say it is too hard to prevent sesame from getting into some products, or it is too costly to change their production centers.

一些食品公司表示，阻止芝麻进入某些产品太难了，即改变生产中心的成本太高。

It is easier to add sesame and identify it legally.

添加芝麻和合法标注更容易。

Some restaurants are also adding sesame to their foods and noting it on menus or meal listings in order to meet the requirements of the food law.

一些餐馆也在他们的食物中添加芝麻，并在菜单上标明，以满足食品法的要求。

Robert Earl is a food safety advocate.

罗伯特·厄尔是一位食品安全倡导者。

He said the practice will put people with food allergies in danger of getting sick.

他说，这种做法会让对食物过敏的人面临生病的危险。

"It puts our community at greater risk," he said.

他说：“这会让我们的社区面临更大的风险”。

Earl added that food companies and restaurants adding sesame to products reduces food choices.

厄尔补充说，食品公司和餐馆在产品中添加芝麻会减少食物选择。

Earl said his organization – Food Allergy Research and Education – has received a number of complaints from people who said they got sick by eating formerly "safe" products.

厄尔说，他的组织——食物过敏研究和教育——已经收到了许多人的投诉，他们说自己因为吃了以前“安全”的产品而生病。

Ruchi Gupta is a children's doctor at Northwestern University.

鲁奇·古普塔是西北大学的一名儿童医生。

She is director of the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma research there.

她是该大学食物过敏和哮喘研究中心的主任。

Gupta called the FDA's decision "disappointing," and noted that the food company and restaurant changes are permitted by law.

古普塔称美国食品药品监督管理局的决定“令人失望”，并指出食品公司和餐厅的改变是法律允许的。

However, she said she hoped the FDA would have "come out in a way to try to discourage" putting sesame in unusual products.

然而，她说，她希望美国食品药品监督管理局能“以某种方式来阻止”在不寻常的产品中添加芝麻的行为。

Robert Califf leads the Food and Drug Administration.

罗伯特·卡里夫是美国食品药品监督管理局的负责人。

In a message posted online in 2023, he wrote about companies adding sesame to their foods.

在2023年发布在网上的一条消息中，他写道，公司在他们的食品中添加了芝麻。

He called it "a practice with an outcome we do not support."

他称这是“一种我们不支持结果的做法”。

He said it does not break any rule but that it "limits options for consumers who are allergic to sesame."

他说，这并没有违反任何规定，但它“限制了对芝麻过敏的消费者的选择”。

He also noted that consumers should "check the label every time you buy a food product – even if you have eaten it before and didn't have an allergic reaction."

他还指出，消费者应该“每次购买食品时检查标签——即使你以前吃过并且没有过敏反应。”

The F.D.A. also said companies cannot use language like "may contain sesame" if the product does not contain it.

美国食品药品监督管理局还表示，如果产品中不含有芝麻，公司就不能使用“可能含有芝麻”之类的措辞。

Peter Lurie heads the CSPI.

彼得·卢里是公共利益科学中心的负责人。

He said he hoped the FDA's recent statements would send a message to food companies.

他说，他希望美国食品药品监督管理局最近的声明能向食品公司传达一个信息。

He said "it's on the companies to act responsibly," if the FDA is not going to force them to make changes.

他说，如果美国食品药品监督管理局不打算强迫这些公司做出改变，“那么就需要这些公司采取负责任的措施”。