降低乳制品的标准引发争议

It's been a year since China lowered its quality standards for dairy products following the notorious melamine scandal. Some industry heavyweights have accused China of having the lowest quality standards in the world. The statement has indeed triggered another round of debate.
在臭名昭著的三聚氰胺丑闻之后，中国降低乳制品的质量标准已经一年了。一些行业巨头指责中国的质量标准全世界最低。该言论引起了另一轮的争辩。

"A stark disgrace of the global dairy industry.” That's how Wang Dingmian, chairman of Guangzhou Dairy Industry Association described the current Chinese standard for dairy products.
“世界乳业之耻”。这是广州市奶业协会理事长王丁棉对目前中国乳制品标准的描述。

Under the standard, every one hundred grams of milk must contain at least 2.8 grams of protein, lower than the original standard set 25 years ago and the International one.
在这种标准之下，每100克牛奶必须至少含有2.8克的蛋白质，低于25年前制定的原先标准和国际标准。

And the maximum amount of bacteria allowed in every milliliter of milk surged to 2 million from 500-thousand under the original standard. It's now 20 times the allowable amounts in the US and Europe.
而每毫升牛奶的最高细菌总数从原先标准下的50万个激增到200万个。现在的总数是美国和欧洲许可数量的20倍。

Consumers have had no qualms about expressing their concerns.
消费者毫不迟疑地表达出他们的担心。

Despite widespread worry, some experts say the changes are reasonable.
尽管普遍担忧，一些专家称这些变化是合理的。

Liu Yuman, researcher of Rural Development Institute, said, “I believe the changes are proper. It goes along with our current situation within the industry.”
农村发展中心研究员刘玉满表示：“我相信这种变化是适当的。它和我们现在的行业情况相符合。”

According to Liu, 60 percent of the cows in China produce on a small scale, often with substandard equipment.
根据刘的说法，中国60%的奶牛生产规模小，设备经常是不符合标准的。

Liu says most dairy farmers would go bankrupt if the country adhered to strict standard.
刘表示，如果国家采用严格的标准，很多奶农将会破产。

But this idea of ensuring economic profits at the expense of quality is refuted even within the industry itself.
但是这种以降低质量为代价来保证经济利益的观点受到驳斥，甚至是业内人士的驳斥。

Wang Dingmian says the current system is far from enough to ensure safety. But it is still adopted by the major industry giants whose products make up more than seventy percent of the market.
王丁棉表示，现行制度远远不能确保安全。但是这种制度仍然为那些产品占市场份额70%的主要行业巨头所采用。