中國再現毒豆芽 日銷高達20噸

Bean sprouts are back in the news for all the wrong reasons. Not for the first time, Chinese inspectors have found bean sprouts tainted with a banned food additive, in this instance in a production center on the southern outskirts of Beijing.

出於一些不好的原因，豆芽再次成爲新聞焦點。中國的檢驗人員發現北京南部郊區一個生產中心的豆芽，添加了違禁的食品添加劑。這可不是第一次了。

The sprouts being produced at the site in Daxing district were treated with high levels of 6-benzyladenine, a plant hormone, to speed up the growth cycle and make them more attractive to buyers, The Beijing News reported this week. But the chemical can also harm consumers’ health, it said, causing premature puberty, disrupting menstrual cycles and contributing to osteoporosis.

《新京報》本週報道，大興區一個豆芽生產基地爲了縮短生長週期，提升賣相，在豆芽中添加了大量植物激素——6-苄基腺嘌呤。該報道稱，這種化學制品也會危害消費者的健康，會導致兒童發育早熟，擾亂女性月經週期，引發骨質疏鬆。

Up to 20 tons of sprouts a day were sold to wholesale dealers in Beijing and in Hebei and Shandong Provinces, the newspaper said. Since the Beijing food and drug authorities conducted their spot check on Nov. 2, the Daxing site has been shut down and three associated vendors have been ordered to halt operations. The case remains under investigation, but no arrests have been reported.

該報稱，產自這裏的豆芽銷往北京各大批發市場及河北、山東等地，日銷量高達20噸左右。北京食品藥品監督機構於11月2日開始進行抽查以來，大興生產基地已被關閉，三名相關商販被叫停生產。該案仍在調查中，但據報道目前無人被捕。

Bean sprouts are a popular staple in China, commonly seen in food stalls, supermarkets and restaurants. But they have also been caught up in food safety scares. In 2011, the discovery of sprouts drenched in hormones, bleaching powder and preservatives in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, resulted in the arrests of 12 people. Last year, the Beijing municipal government issued a health advisory with tips to the public on how to detect unsafe bean sprouts.

在中國，豆芽是一種廣受歡迎的蔬菜，是小吃攤、超市及餐廳的常見食物。但豆芽也陷入了食品安全恐慌中。2011年，相關部門發現遼寧省瀋陽出現了被激素、漂白粉和防腐劑浸泡過的豆芽，12人因此被捕。去年，北京市政府發佈健康忠告，教公衆如何辨別不安全的豆芽。

The Beijing bean sprout industry, which produces about 300 tons a day, is dominated by small workshops and family businesses, many of which operate in an unsanitary environment, The Beijing News said. Government oversight has also suffered at times from confusion over whether bean sprouts are “agricultural produce,” since they are not grown in the ground. In August, the Beijing government circulated draft regulations to tighten supervision over the production of bean sprouts. The regulations will take effect on Jan. 1, and they will require all sprout-producing sites to have a government license.

《新京報》報道稱，北京豆芽產業每天產量高達300噸，以小作坊和家庭式經營爲主，多數生產場所的衛生條件較差。政府監管部門有時也會受到困擾，不確定豆芽是否屬於“農產品”，因爲它們不是土地裏生長的。今年8月，北京市政府發佈相關規定草案，加大對豆芽生產的監管力度。這些規定將於1月1日生效，要求所有豆芽生產場所都必須獲得政府頒發的生產許可證。

The crackdown on bean sprouts comes against a backdrop of scandals over unsafe consumables in China in recent years, and government pledges to do more to ensure quality. In 2008, milk powder mixed with melamine was linked to illness in 300,000 infants and to the deaths of six. Last year, 63 people were arrested for trying to pass off fox, mink and rat meat as mutton. Cadmium-tainted rice and glow-in-the-dark pork have also been reported.

整治豆芽產業的背景是，近些年來中國出現了很多有關不安全消費品的醜聞，政府承諾採取更多舉措確保質量。2008年，摻有三聚氰胺的奶粉導致30萬名嬰兒患病，六名嬰兒死亡。去年，63人因爲試圖用狐狸肉、貂肉和老鼠肉冒充羊肉而被逮捕。還爆出了鎘大米和發光豬肉的醜聞。

Whatever their health risks, the treated Daxing bean sprouts were apparently popular with buyers. The main part of the sprout was “thicker and longer” than others in the market, with “roots that were shorter and smaller,” the Beijing food and drug authorities said.

不管大興生產的泡藥豆芽帶來了哪些健康威脅，它們明顯很受顧客歡迎。北京食藥監管部門表示，與市場上的其他豆芽相比，泡藥豆芽的芽身“比較粗長”，“根部比較短小”。

Wholesalers told The Beijing News that the treated bean sprouts were in such demand that the retailers they sold to had to arrange purchases a week in advance. One vendor said the standard bean sprouts were harder to sell to restaurants and supermarkets than the “good and bulky” ones from the Daxing producers.

批發商告訴《新京報》，這種豆芽的需求量非常大，顧客必須提前一個星期預訂。一名商販表示，與大興生產商供應的“粗大”的豆芽相比，普通豆芽不好賣，餐館和超市都不太願意買。