VOA慢速英语听力：美国机构允许在食品中添加芝麻 US Agency Permits Sesame to be Added to Foods.
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently said that by law food makers are permitted to add sesame to their products. They also must identify sesame content in their foods on product packaging.
美国食品和药物管理局（FDA）最近表示，根据法律，食品制造商可以在其产品中添加芝麻。他们还必须在产品包装上标明食品中的芝麻含量。
Sesame is the seed of the sesamum or benne plant. It is used to make oil and the seeds themselves are often used on bread or baked goods. The seeds come in black and white colors.
芝麻是芝麻植物的种子。它被用来制作油，种子本身常用于面包或烘焙食品。芝麻种子有黑色和白色两种颜色。
Sesame is used in many foods to add a nutty flavor or some crunch.
芝麻被用于许多食品中，以增添坚果风味或一些脆脆的口感。
But the American non-profit group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), says about 1.6 million people are allergic to the seeds. Someone who is allergic can get very sick after eating the seeds. People with the allergy usually learn to stay away from traditional foods that contain sesame.
但美国非营利组织“公众利益科学中心”（CSPI）表示，约有160万人对芝麻过敏。对芝麻过敏的人在食用芝麻后可能会感到非常不适。对芝麻过敏的人通常会学会避免含有芝麻的传统食品。
The CSPI is protesting to the FDA about a law that went into effect in January.
“公众利益科学中心”正在向FDA抗议一项于一月份生效的法律。
The Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act, known as FASTER, listed sesame as a major allergen requiring identification on packaging for the first time.
“食品过敏安全、治疗、教育和研究法案”（FASTER）首次将芝麻列为需要在包装上标明的主要过敏原。
Some food companies made changes to their production centers in reaction to the new law. Some cut sesame use completely. Others, however, decided to add sesame to products that did not usually contain it. As long as they identified the sesame on the food packaging, they were obeying the law fully.
一些食品公司针对这项新法律做出了生产中心的改变。有些公司完全不使用芝麻，而其他一些公司则决定在通常不含芝麻的产品中添加芝麻。只要他们在食品包装上标明了芝麻，就是完全遵守法律。
The CSPI and other organizations argue that adding sesame to foods that did not contain it in the past limits food choices for allergic people.
“公众利益科学中心”和其他组织认为，在过去不含芝麻的食品中添加芝麻会限制对过敏人群的食品选择。
Some food companies say it is too hard to prevent sesame from getting into some products, or it is too costly to change their production centers. It is easier to add sesame and identify it legally.
一些食品公司表示，防止芝麻进入某些产品太困难，或者改变生产中心成本太高。更容易的做法是添加芝麻并在法律上加以标明。
Some restaurants are also adding sesame to their foods and noting it on menus or meal listings in order to meet the requirements of the food law.
一些餐厅也在食品中添加芝麻，并在菜单或餐食清单上注明，以满足食品法律的要求。
Robert Earl is a food safety advocate. He said the practice will put people with food allergies in danger of getting sick. “It puts our community at greater risk,” he said. Earl added that food companies and restaurants adding sesame to products reduces food choices.
罗伯特·厄尔是食品安全倡导者。他说，这种做法会让食品过敏的人有可能生病。“这会让我们的社区面临更大的风险，”他说。厄尔还补充说，食品公司和餐厅在产品中添加芝麻会减少食品选择。
Earl said his organization – Food Allergy Research and Education – has received a number of complaints from people who said they got sick by eating formerly “safe” products.
厄尔表示，他的组织——食品过敏研究与教育中心（Food Allergy Research and Education）收到了许多投诉，称有人因食用过去被认为“安全”的产品而生病。
Ruchi Gupta is a children’s doctor at Northwestern University. She is director of the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma research there. Gupta called the FDA’s decision “disappointing,” and noted that the food company and restaurant changes are permitted by law. However, she said she hoped the FDA would have “come out in a way to try to discourage” putting sesame in unusual products.
Ruchi Gupta是西北大学的儿科医生，也是该校食品过敏和哮喘研究中心的主任。Gupta称FDA的决定“令人失望”，并指出食品公司和餐厅的变更是符合法律规定的。然而，她表示希望FDA能够“以一种方式出面劝阻”在不寻常的产品中添加芝麻。
Robert Califf leads the Food and Drug Administration. In a message posted online in 2023, he wrote about companies adding sesame to their foods. He called it “a practice with an outcome we do not support.” He said it does not break any rule but that it “limits options for consumers who are allergic to sesame.”
Robert Califf是美国食品和药物管理局的领导人。在2023年发布的一条在线信息中，他谈到了一些公司在食品中添加芝麻。他称之为“一种我们不支持的做法”。他说这并没有违反任何规定，但“限制了对芝麻过敏的消费者的选择”。
He also noted that consumers should “check the label every time you buy a food product – even if you have eaten it before and didn’t have an allergic reaction.”
他还指出，消费者应该“每次购买食品产品都要检查标签，即使之前吃过而没有过敏反应”。
The F.D.A. also said companies cannot use language like “may contain sesame” if the product does not contain it.
美国食品和药物管理局还表示，如果产品不含芝麻，则公司不能使用“可能含有芝麻”等用语。
Peter Lurie heads the CSPI. He said he hoped the FDA’s recent statements would send a message to food companies. He said “it’s on the companies to act responsibly,” if the FDA is not going to force them to make changes.
彼得·卢里是“公众利益科学中心”的领导人。他表示希望FDA最近的声明能向食品公司传达一个信息。他说如果FDA不会强制他们做出改变，那么“这就取决于公司自己负责任的行动”。
I’m Dan Friedell.
我是丹·弗里代尔。
Words in This Story
packaging –n. the outside container a product comes in, such as a box
crunch –n. a word used to describe the sound or feeling of chewing something that has a hard outer part
allergic –adj. used to describe the experience of getting sick from some part of food or a bite from a bug
advocate –n. a person who speaks for something or someone else who does not have a strong voice
discourage –v. to argue against something happening
commissioner –n. a person who is in charge of an agency or organization
practice –n. a way of doing things, such as making a food product
option –n. something that may be chosen
consumer –n. a person or group of people who purchase a product
label –n. a piece of information on the outside of product that tells what is inside
