您现在的位置: Language Tips> Audio & Video> China Daily Audio News  
 





 
Food safety is 'a global problem'
[ 2007-09-13 11:17 ]

Download

The country's top quality control official yesterday warned that the use of new materials, booming global trade and pollution pose new threats to food safety around the globe.

"In terms of food safety, the world faces many problems that should be treated seriously and resolved immediately," Li Changjiang, minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, told an international conference.

A large number of new materials and technologies used in food processing have spawned unknown risks, and worldwide distribution of food also causes potential dangers, Li said.

Global warming and pollution may result in more food contamination, and a recent series of food safety emergencies such as the outbreaks of mad cow and foot and mouth diseases have reminded the world of the importance of information sharing and an early warning system, he said.

Many participants at the two-day China International Food Safety and Quality Conference shared the minister's worries. They agreed that intensified international cooperation, especially in information and experience sharing, is vital for the prevention of, and a solution to, the problems.

"Long-distance transportation has made the process of moving food from the farm to the dinner table increasingly complex," Frank Yiannas, president of the International Association for Food Protection, said.

"It also makes wide-spread disease possible."

Jorgen Schlundt, director of the food safety department of the World Health Organization (WHO), said many problems emerging in developing countries have been well documented in developed countries.

"We need to make this information open to prevent the problems and know how to remedy them," he said.

"All countries need to improve their food safety systems. I said all countries, as food nowhere in the world is 100 percent safe," Schlundt said.

The WHO estimates that each year, unsafe food makes 2 billion people ill, about one third of the world population.

China last year exported 24 million tons of food to more than 200 countries and regions. But questions about the quality of Chinese food, toys and other exports have been raised in recent months after a string of product recalls and import bans.

To improve food safety and product quality, the government has issued a basket of measures, including the introduction of recall systems for food, drugs and toys.

"Many of the measures are preventive rather than reactive," Karen Mocatta, a food safety senior consultant with the JohnsonDiversey Consulting Company, said. "That's major progress."

(China Daily 09/13/2007 page 1)

Vocabulary:

foot and mouth diseases:口蹄疫

(英语点津 Linda 编辑)

About the broadcaster:

Bernice Chan is a foreign expert at China Daily Website. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Bernice has written for newspapers and magazines in Hong Kong and most recently worked as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, producing current affairs shows and documentaries.

 
 
 
相关文章 Related Stories
 
         
 
 
 
 
 
         

 

 

 
 

48小时内最热门

     
  “好修的学分”怎么说
  “抛媚眼”怎么说
  Click《人生遥控器》(精讲之九)
  布什又犯口误 称APEC为OPEC
  Dirty work:扮“白脸”

本频道最新推荐

     
  女孩的心思谁能猜:Suspended from class
  《说点什么吧》:Say something anyway
  Mountain and cowboy culture meet in Jackson Hole
  Livestock disease spreads in Britain
  Working magic in the garden with beans

论坛热贴

     
   "电视选秀"怎么翻译?
  how to translate "造星"
  how to translate "特供猪"?
  参加BBC在线竞赛 获免费伦敦游机会!
  how to say "代言"
  “试婚”怎么说