美国国家公共电台 NPR Don't Panic: The Government Shutdown Isn't Making Food Unsafe

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Inspectors² from the Food and Drug Administration are inspecting less food during this government shutdown, leading to questions about whether our food is still safe. NPR's Dan Charles is here to say don't worry. When it comes to food safety, the shutdown hasn't changed things much.

DAN CHARLES, BYLINE³: Let's start with the big picture. There are thousands of slaughterhouses and meat processors in the country, and they cannot legally operate without a USDA inspector¹ on site. Those inspectors are still working through the shutdown. And then there are tens of thousands of other food plants that handle everything else, from cauliflower to cookies. The FDA oversees⁴ those plants. And David Acheson, a former FDA official, now a private food safety consultant⁵, says there's a whole different philosophy for regulating them.

DAVID ACHESON: The expectation is that the industry will produce safe food, period. And FDA's job was to periodically check that that was indeed happening.

CHARLES: Periodically usually means only once every few years. So 99 percent of these plants were not going to get inspected this month, anyway. The shutdown did not change things much. Meanwhile, a lot of them still are being inspected as part of a whole parallel food safety system, a private one run by people like Craig Wilson, the head of food safety at Costco.

CRAIG WILSON: We spend money with both suppliers. And if they can't meet our specifications⁶ from a food safety or quality perspective, guess what happens?

CHARLES: What?

WILSON: Yeah, exactly. What. We won't buy from them.

CHARLES: And he says we actually demand some things the FDA doesn't, like more testing for harmful bacteria. There are several of these private food safety certifications. Food companies need them to sell to big food retailers⁷, like Walmart or Kroger or Costco. And they have to get inspected and recertified every year. This private system has failed to catch problems at some companies. Critics say since food companies pay for the certifications, the certifiers don't have much of an incentive⁸ to look too hard for problems. Also, there are plenty of food companies that the private inspectors never see. Here's David Acheson, the food safety consultant.

ACHESON: Keep in mind that there's lots and lots and lots of relatively⁹ small plants that are making food that are not selling into the major chains.

CHARLES: So no big food retailers telling them to spend the money to get a safety certification. Acheson says, for those companies and also to keep the big food companies honest, it is important for the FDA to stop by every so often.

ACHESON: Nobody in their right mind would be complacent¹⁰ about an FDA inspection¹¹ because they can be very tough. And they can have fairly significant negative consequences on your business.

CHARLES: Every so often, those routine inspections¹² do find things - evidence of rats in warehouses¹³, bad temperature gauges¹⁴. Just knowing the FDA could show up unannounced is a good thing, Acheson says, even if the visits are rare. Dan Charles, NPR News.

1 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

2 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

5 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

6 specifications   

n.规格；载明；详述；（产品等的）说明书；说明书( specification的名词复数 )；详细的计划书；载明；详述

参考例句：

• Our work must answer the specifications laid down. 我们的工作应符合所定的规范。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This sketch does not conform with the specifications. 图文不符。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

8 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

9 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

10 complacent   

adj.自满的；自鸣得意的

参考例句：

• We must not become complacent the moment we have some success.我们决不能一见成绩就自满起来。
• She was complacent about her achievements.她对自己的成绩沾沾自喜。

11 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

12 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

14 gauges   

n.规格( gauge的名词复数 )；厚度；宽度；标准尺寸v.（用仪器）测量( gauge的第三人称单数 )；估计；计量；划分

参考例句：

• A thermometer gauges the temperature. 温度计可测量温度。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fuel gauges dropped swiftly. 燃料表指针迅速下降。 来自《简明英汉词典》