Nearly 300 people fell ill in central China after eating meat suspected of containing illegal additives, the latest in a spate of contamination problems to emerge even as the government vows to crack down on food-safety violators.

　　中國中部地區(qū)近300人食用疑似含有非法添加劑的豬肉后患病，這是一連串曝光的食品污染事件中的最新一起，而中國政府正誓言要打擊食品安全違規(guī)者。

　　Officials in Changsha, the capital of central Hunan province, confirmed on Monday that 286 people had sought medical help over the weekend after eating in Wu Feng, a village 25 miles southwest of Changsha. Eight people are still in hospital.

　　Wu Hong/European Pressphoto Agency在山東省的一個養(yǎng)豬場；上周末的豬肉污染事件數(shù)周之前，中國剛剛宣布將進行監(jiān)管行動，確保肉制品供應鏈安全。湖南省長沙市官方周一證實，上周末在長沙西南方向40公里處的五豐村，286人因食物中毒被送往醫(yī)院救治。目前有8人仍在醫(yī)院。

　　The state-run China Daily newspaper blamed clenbuterol, a substance that speeds muscle growth in pigs but can cause headache, nausea and an irregular heartbeat when consumed by humans. Changsha authorities could not confirm the report, saying that they were opening an investigation.

　　官方媒體《中國日報》英文版報道稱導致食物中毒的原因可能是瘦肉精，這種物質(zhì)能加速豬的肌肉生長，但人體消耗后會導致頭痛、惡心和不規(guī)則心跳。長沙有關(guān)當局無法證實該報道，說他們正在展開調(diào)查。

　　China has been hit by a wave of food-additive scares recently. Health officials over the weekend ordered 17 noodle makers in Dongguan, a city in southern Guangdong province, to stop production after discovering their products contained non-edible additives such as ink, industrial dye and paraffin wax, according to the China Daily.

　　中國最近受到一輪食品添加劑恐慌的襲擊。據(jù)《中國日報》報道，廣東東莞衛(wèi)生執(zhí)法人員檢測到17家粉條生產(chǎn)企業(yè)的產(chǎn)品含有墨汁、工業(yè)染料和石蠟等非食用添加劑，隨即責令這些企業(yè)停產(chǎn)。

　　In Guangdong, authorities last week seized 16 tons of pork contaminated with sodium borate, which changes the color of the meat to make it look more like higher-priced beef, according to the People's Procuratorate of Guangdong Province, a government body in charge of prosecutions.

　　上周，廣東省人民檢察院披露，該省有關(guān)部門查獲16噸豬肉浸泡硼砂冒充牛肉，豬肉經(jīng)硼砂浸泡后顏色會更像價格更高的牛肉。

　　Also last week, police arrested 12 people in the northeast China city of Shenyang after finding sodium nitrite, a toxic chemical that makes vegetables grow faster, in bean sprouts, according to the Shenyang Municipal Public Security Bureau.

　　同樣是在上周，沈陽市公安局發(fā)布消息說，警方在豆芽中檢測到亞硝酸鈉并逮捕了12人，這種有毒化學物質(zhì)能讓蔬菜長得更快。

　　Last month health inspectors discovered clenbuterol in pork products from a subsidiary of China's largest meat-processing company, Shuanghui Group. The company apologized on its website and said it discontinued partnerships with producers using the contaminant.

　　上個月，衛(wèi)生監(jiān)管機構(gòu)發(fā)現(xiàn)雙匯集團旗下一家公司的豬肉產(chǎn)品含有瘦肉精。雙匯是中國最大的肉類加工企業(yè)。公司在其網(wǎng)站上道歉并說終止了與使用瘦肉精生產(chǎn)商的合作關(guān)系。

　　More than two years have passed since China's government, responding to a scandal in which milk contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine killed at least six children and caused illnesses in nearly 300,000 others, vowed to enforce stricter food-safety regulations.

　　兩年多前，中國發(fā)生嬰幼兒配方奶粉中摻加化工產(chǎn)品三聚氰胺的丑聞，造成至少六名兒童死亡，近30萬人患病。中國政府對此做出反應，鄭重承諾要實施更加嚴格的食品安全法規(guī)。

　　Though the government executed two men involved in the production and sale of the contaminated milk and threatened other violators with the death penalty, many believe it has fallen short of its promise to improve food standards.

　　盡管政府對參與毒奶粉生產(chǎn)和銷售的兩名涉案人員處以死刑，并揚言對其他違規(guī)者判處死刑，但很多人認為政府沒有兌現(xiàn)提高食品標準的承諾。

　　Enforcement hasn't been strict enough, said Wu Ming, a professor of public health at Beijing University. "We've enacted so many policies, but haven't been able to fully implement them," said Ms. Ming, adding that many people have evaded laws or used personal relationships to avoid punishment for breaking them.

　　北京大學公共衛(wèi)生學院教授吳明說，執(zhí)法不夠嚴格，我們頒布了很多政策，但沒能貫徹實施。她還說，很多人規(guī)避法律，或利用個人關(guān)系逃避法律制裁。

　　Lower-level municipal authorities also often fail to report violations, said Lester Ross, a Beijing-based attorney with U.S. law firm WilmerHale. These companies are all taxpayers, he explained, and seizing their operations would typically result in loss of local tax revenue.

　　PHEI CHIN/European Pressphoto Agency上周在中國東北城市沈陽發(fā)生了毒豆芽事件。中國最近已經(jīng)發(fā)生了一系列食品安全問題。美國威凱平和而德律師事務所(WilmerHale)駐北京律師羅斯(Lester Ross)說，下級地方政府也常常不上報違規(guī)案件。他解釋說，這些公司都是納稅人，查封它們的業(yè)務往往會導致地方稅收遭受損失。

　　Mr. Ross said that many companies see additives as a way to shave costs or increase income. "In many instances, the people doing this have no idea that they could be putting people's lives at risk," he said said. "The government, including the Ministry of Health, needs to step in and educate people at all levels of the dangers involved in using chemicals in food."

　　羅斯說，很多公司把添加劑看作是一種降低成本或提高收入的手段。他說，很多情況下，使用添加劑的人并不知道他們這樣做可能會把別人的生命置于危險中。包括衛(wèi)生部在內(nèi)的各級政府部門需要介入，教育公眾在食品中使用化學品的危險。

　　China's Ministry of Health did not immediately reply to requests for comment. At a national conference on food safety in February, Health Minister Chen Zhu announced plans to decrease food contamination and hazards this year.

　　中國衛(wèi)生部暫時沒有回復記者的置評請求。在2月份召開的一個全國食品安全大會上，衛(wèi)生部部長陳竺宣布了今年減少食品污染和危害的計劃。

　　"Reducing and eliminating food-safety problems and related crimes is a long arduous and complicated process" he was quoted in the China Daily as saying.

　　《中國日報》援引陳竺的話報導說，食品安全特別是打擊食品安全違法犯罪行為將是一個長期、艱巨、復雜的過程。