中国再现毒豆芽 日销高达20吨

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.

出于一些不好的原因，豆芽再次成为新闻焦点。中国的检验人员发现北京南部郊区一个生产中心的豆芽，添加了违禁的食品添加剂。这可不是第一次了。

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.

《新京报》本周报道，大兴区一个豆芽生产基地为了缩短生长周期，提升卖相，在豆芽中添加了大量植物激素——6-苄基腺嘌呤。该报道称，这种化学制品也会危害消费者的健康，会导致儿童发育早熟，扰乱女性月经周期，引发骨质疏松。

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.

该报称，产自这里的豆芽销往北京各大批发市场及河北、山东等地，日销量高达20吨左右。北京食品药品监督机构于11月2日开始进行抽查以来，大兴生产基地已被关闭，三名相关商贩被叫停生产。该案仍在调查中，但据报道目前无人被捕。

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.

在中国，豆芽是一种广受欢迎的蔬菜，是小吃摊、超市及餐厅的常见食物。但豆芽也陷入了食品安全恐慌中。2011年，相关部门发现辽宁省沈阳出现了被激素、漂白粉和防腐剂浸泡过的豆芽，12人因此被捕。去年，北京市政府发布健康忠告，教公众如何辨别不安全的豆芽。

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.

《新京报》报道称，北京豆芽产业每天产量高达300吨，以小作坊和家庭式经营为主，多数生产场所的卫生条件较差。政府监管部门有时也会受到困扰，不确定豆芽是否属于“农产品”，因为它们不是土地里生长的。今年8月，北京市政府发布相关规定草案，加大对豆芽生产的监管力度。这些规定将于1月1日生效，要求所有豆芽生产场所都必须获得政府颁发的生产许可证。

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.

整治豆芽产业的背景是，近些年来中国出现了很多有关不安全消费品的丑闻，政府承诺采取更多举措确保质量。2008年，掺有三聚氰胺的奶粉导致30万名婴儿患病，六名婴儿死亡。去年，63人因为试图用狐狸肉、貂肉和老鼠肉冒充羊肉而被逮捕。还爆出了镉大米和发光猪肉的丑闻。

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.

不管大兴生产的泡药豆芽带来了哪些健康威胁，它们明显很受顾客欢迎。北京食药监管部门表示，与市场上的其他豆芽相比，泡药豆芽的芽身“比较粗长”，“根部比较短小”。

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.

批发商告诉《新京报》，这种豆芽的需求量非常大，顾客必须提前一个星期预订。一名商贩表示，与大兴生产商供应的“粗大”的豆芽相比，普通豆芽不好卖，餐馆和超市都不太愿意买。