吉林火災上百人亡 食品生產再受關注

At least 119 people were killed and dozens injured in a fire at a chicken slaughter house in north China, according to provincial officials, the latest reminder of the country's poor industrial-safety record.

據中國吉林省的官員說，該省一個禽業屠宰場發生的大火已經導致至少119人死亡，數十人受傷。這讓人不禁再次注意到中國糟糕的工業安全記錄。

Chinese state media quoted workers saying that all but one of the doors to the plant were typically locked from the outside.

中國國有媒體援引工人的話說，該廠只有一道門沒有鎖，其他的門通常都是從外面鎖住的。

The fire at the facility in Jilin province came as American regulators and consumers begin to scrutinize a bid by Chinese food company Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd. to buy U.S. pork producer Smithfield Foods Inc. One concern is how Chinese ownership of the No. 1 global pork producer might affect U.S. food security.

吉林禽業屠宰場的大火恰逢美國監管部門和消費者開始審查中國食品公司雙匯國際控股有限公司(Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.)收購美國豬肉生產商Smithfield Foods Inc.的計劃之際。一個令人擔心的問題是，中國擁有全球第一大豬肉生產商可能給美國食品安全帶來怎樣的影響。

Industrial accidents have gone hand in hand with China's emergence as a world powerhouse in production─including of food. And while poor factory safety doesn't necessarily equate to unsafe food, industry officials say workplace problems of any kind around food raise risks it will be contaminated during processing.

隨着中國成爲世界生產大國（包括食品生產），工業事故也隨之而來。此外，儘管工廠安全條件差並不一定等同於食品不安全，但業內管理人士說，與食品有關的任何生產場所的問題都會增大食品在加工過程中受到污染的風險。

Provincial officials say an ammonia leak sparked an explosion that led to the fire in the facilities of Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Co. For hours after the early-morning blast north of the provincial capital Changchun, rescuers located bodies in the charred buildings. The flammable chemical ammonia is often used in refrigeration systems. Company officials couldn't be reached.

吉林省官員說，吉林寶源豐禽業有限公司的屠宰場發生液氨泄漏，引發爆炸起火。在這場週一凌晨吉林省會長春北部發生的爆炸後幾個小時，救援人員在燒燬的建築中找到了遇難者遺體。可燃化學品液氨常常用於製冷系統。記者無法聯繫到該公司管理人士置評。

China Central Television, the government broadcaster, said the blast affected an area of 17,000 square meters.

國有電視臺中央電視臺(CCTV)說，爆炸影響面積達17,000平方米。

'In my memory, this is the most serious accident in the meat-processing sector,' said He Zhonghua, an analyst with China Meat Industry Network, a consultancy owned by the semiofficial China Meat Industry Association.

諮詢公司中國肉業網分析師何中華說，在我的記憶中，這是肉類加工行業發生的最嚴重的一起事故。這家諮詢公司由半官方的中國肉類協會所有。

As China's food exports surge, its food-production practices are an area of growing concern outside the country.

隨着中國食品出口大幅增長，中國的食品生產操作是外界一個日益擔憂的問題。

The industry can anticipate a new level of attention from U.S. legislators, regulators and consumers following Shuanghui's deal to acquire Virginia-based pork producer Smithfield Foods. The $4.7 billion buyout offer, potentially the biggest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company, is subject to regulatory approval.

在雙匯提出收購弗吉尼亞豬肉生產商Smithfield Foods後，該行業將可能獲得美國國會議員、監管機構和消費者的更多關注。該交易規模爲47億美元，有望成爲中國企業對美國公司的最大一樁收購案。交易仍待監管部門的批准。

The Chinese suitor said last week when the deal was announced that it hopes to learn from Smithfield's production processes, not impose its own on the U.S. business. People involved in the deal said it could open China's market more to Smithfield sausage, hams and other meat, instead of pave the way for broadening channels into the U.S. for the Chinese company's products.

上週交易宣佈時雙匯表示，希望從Smithfield的生產過程中學習經驗，同時不會將自己的生產流程強加給Smithfield。參與這宗交易的人士說，該交易可能提高中國市場對Smithfield生產的香腸、火腿和其它肉類的開放程度，並不會爲拓寬雙匯產品進入美國的渠道鋪平道路。

Chinese industrial accidents have killed over 70,000 people in each of the past two years alone, according to official figures. Less than two months ago at a pork processor in south China, for example, around 400 people were endangered by an ammonia leak like the one blamed for Monday's fire, according to the official news agency Xinhua.

官方數據顯示，在過去兩年，每年死於工業事故的人數超過7萬人。比如據新華社報道，不到兩個月前在華南地區一個豬肉加工廠，約有400人因氨氣泄漏受到威脅，而吉林周一發生的這場大火也是由於氨氣泄漏所致。

Away from the factory floor, worries about unsafe poultry are already high in China. In early April, Chinese health officials reported an outbreak of a new strain of avian flu in chickens and ducks; though Chinese authorities say risks to humans have diminished, they haven't permitted sale of fresh poultry in some Chinese cities. Late last year, U.S. fast-food groups Yum Brands Inc. and McDonald's Corp. were accused by Chinese media of selling chicken that had been raised with unsafe levels of antibiotics. Both companies said they would strengthen supervision of suppliers.

在工廠車間之外，中國社會對不安全的禽肉已經非常擔心。4月初，中國衛生官員報告說，雞鴨身上爆發了一種新型禽流感。雖然中國有關部門說，新型禽流感對人體構成的威脅已經減弱，但中國部分城市還是不允許銷售新鮮禽肉。去年年末，美國快餐企業百勝餐飲集團(Yum Brands Inc.)和麥當勞(McDonald's Corp.)遭中國媒體指責。媒體稱這兩家公司銷售的雞肉產品源自生長過程中使用了不安全劑量的抗生素的雞。兩家公司均表示將加強對供應商的監督。

More broadly, industrial accidents in China are taking on increasing resonance for U.S. companies and consumers. After explosions of combustible dust at two Apple Inc. suppliers in China that left four dead and at least 59 injured in 2011, the U.S. computer maker last year said it issued new guidelines for its contractors for handling the material.

更廣泛地說，中國發生的工業事故正引發美國企業和消費者越來越多的共鳴。2011年，蘋果(Apple Inc.)兩家在華供應商發生可燃粉塵爆炸，事故造成四人死亡，至少59人受傷。事故發生後，蘋果去年表示，該公司已經就承包商如何處理有關材料一事發布新的指引。

The plant that caught fire on Monday illustrates the challenge to imposing uniform safety standards on China's fragmented and fast-expanding food business.

週一吉林這家工廠發生大火表明，想要在分散且快速擴張的中國食品業施行統一的安全標準還面臨很多挑戰。

Thousands of families raise chickens in the city of Dehui, where the plant is located, not far from the North Korean border, which pitches itself as a broiler city.

在失火工廠所在地德惠市，養雞的家庭成千上萬。該市自詡爲肉雞城。德惠距離中朝邊境不遠。

In a popular series of art works, Canadian Edward Burtynsky drew attention to Dehui's vast chicken-production facilities in photographs showing uncountable thousands of poultry workers in a single room, all wearing pink coveralls and blue aprons.

在一系列受歡迎的藝術作品中，加拿大攝影師伯汀斯基(Edward Burtynsky)將外界的吸引力聚焦至德惠龐大的雞肉生產工廠。從伯汀斯基的照片中我們可以看到，在一個房間中有幾乎數不清的數千名禽肉加工工人，他們都身穿粉色工作服和藍色圍裙。

The northern region around Dehui is sometimes called the Iowa of China. But four-year-old Baoyuanfeng, like many companies in China's food industry, is relatively small, with a processing capacity of 100,000 birds a day, according to a profile of the company published on a local website. Mr. He, the consultant, said he expects China's poultry business to face new pressure to consolidate smaller operators into bigger companies that are easier to monitor.

德惠周邊的北部地區有時也被稱爲中國的艾奧瓦。但成立僅有四年的寶源豐和中國食品行業的很多企業一樣，規模相對較小。從發佈在當地網站的一則公司簡介看，寶源豐一天能處理10萬隻禽類。何中華說，他預計中國家禽業將面臨整合的新壓力，衆多小企業將被整合成規模較大的企業，以便於監管。