VOA标准英语2013--Serbian Scandal Highlights Fungal Poison Danger

 

Serbian Scandal Highlights Fungal Poison Danger

Serbian Agriculture Minister Goran Knezevic says the country’s milk is safe to drink.

Tests late last month had found aflatoxins in some milk at levels higher than permitted under a law passed two years ago.

The government has now raised those limits ten-fold. But Knezevic notes that this higher level is considered safe in the United States and many other countries.

Aflatoxins can get into milk through contaminated animal feed.

Keeping it out of feed has been a challenge recently, and not just in Serbia, says U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher Peter Cotty.

“We have seen increased levels of aflatoxins this year associated with the very hot, dry conditions we had, particularly in our maize² production regions in the U.S," he said.

Heat and drought put stress on crops, making it easier for the fungi³ that produce aflatoxin to move in.

Cotty says while high levels of the chemical in any food are a concern.

“We’re more concerned when aflatoxins occur in a staple⁴ food that people consume a great deal [of]," he said.

For example, in parts of Africa, people eat maize at every meal. And the warm environment and poor drying and storage practices make aflatoxin a perennial⁵ threat. There was a major outbreak in 2004, according to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture’s Ranajit Bandyopadhyay.

“More than 200 people in Kenya died due to aflatoxin poisoning. However, even more dangerous is its slow poisoning effect," he said.

The poisonous fungi growing on peanuts, maize and other crops in these areas are a leading cause of cancer and more, says Peter Cotty.

“They’re also associated with stunting⁶ in humans, reduced development in children. They’re also associated with reduced functioning of the immune system. And they can actually cause your liver to die,” he said.

To lower the risk, farmers in Africa, the U.S. and elsewhere are fighting fungus⁷ with fungus.

In a natural method Cotty and Bandyopadhyay developed, farmers spread their fields with grain infected with fungi very similar to those producing aflatoxin.

“And those fungi compete with aflatoxin producers and displace them in the environment. And that results in 80 to 90 percent reduction in toxin¹ in crops with a single application,” said Cotty.

But testing for the toxin along the supply chain is the last line of defense⁸.

And it’s a test Serbia’s dairy farmers insist they’ve passed. 

1 toxin   

n.毒素，毒质

参考例句：

• Experts have linked this condition to a build-up of toxins in the body.专家已把这一病症与体内毒素的积累联系起来。
• Tests showed increased levels of toxin in shellfish.检验表明水生有壳动物的毒素水平提高了。

2 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

3 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

4 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

5 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

6 stunting   

v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Objective To report three-year-old twin brothers with speech stunting. 目的报道孪生兄弟同患语言发育迟缓的临床结果。 来自互联网
• No one should talk while stunting except coach or back spotter. 在技巧进行的过程中，只有教练或后保能说话。 来自互联网

7 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。