VOA慢速英语:New Rules Aim to Improve US Food Safety

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，约有六分之一的美国人因食用变质食物而生病。新拟议的规则旨在提高食品安全。官方称，这些改变每年可以防止超过一百万例与食物有关的疾病。

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.
在美国总统奥巴马签署《食品安全现代化法案》整整两年之后，新规则在本月被提出。新规的第一步是让法律生效，让食品安全从上世纪三十年代以来发生最大变化。

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.
该法律让美国食品和药物管理局（FDA）负责预防食源性疾病。专家称为了应对疾病爆发而对FDA以往角色进行的转变。

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.
在经过一些列与袋装菠菜、花生酱等食品相关的疾病爆发后，美国国会通过了该法律。Margaret Hamburg是FDA的专员。

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.”
“如果之前采取了这样的措施，这类疾病原本是可以免于发生的。因此，我们相信将会看到真正的转变。”

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.
该机构要求食品制造商出示表明自己找到污染最可能发生的环节，制造商还要展示自己已采取措施来预防污染。拟议的规定还涉及种植和收获水果和蔬菜过程中的安全。

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.
国会预算办公室估计确定该法的全部条款需要政府耗资14亿美元，工业组织美国食品加工产业协会尚未发布成立该法给制造商带来的成本。

But FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor says the new rules are worth the price.
但FDA副局长迈克尔•泰勒说新规定物有所值。

“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.”
“只要看下减少疾病的大致情况，同时考虑到避免食品供应中断和社区消费者信心的损失，我想收益要远远大于实施的成本。”

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•德瓦尔是公共利益科学中心食品安全部主任，她说一年前就应该发布新法了。

 “We’re really happy that the new rules have come out. They’re a little late.”
“新法能出台，我们还是很高兴的，但是有点晚。”

And she notes that they are not finished.
她说新法并不完整。

 “The bigger question is, where are the rules on imports that haven’t been released yet?”
“最大的问题是，尚未公布有关进口的规定，何时发布呢？”

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.
FDA称美国人15%的食品来自进口，这个比例还在上升。美国还需要求进口食品符合美国所产食品的标准，但目前这类规定尚未出台。但FDA称很快就会发布。