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Bubble Tea Under Threat From Toxic Fears in Taiwan
台灣的珍珠奶茶深陷染毒疑雲
(WSJ—May 30, 2013) In the late 1990’s, Taiwan made its biggest impact on the world through the production of computers and electronic components, but as competition from South Korean and China’s PC makers intensifies, the island is finding another way to cement its place in the world – one tapioca ball at a time.
在上個世紀的九零年代，台灣藉由生產電腦與電子零件，對世界造成了極大的撼動。但是當來自南韓與中國的電腦製造商競爭益發激烈時，台灣遂找尋另外一種方式來鞏固他們在世界上的能見度─那就是用樹薯粉做成的珍珠。
Known as bubble or pearl tea, the combination of chewy tapioca balls and milk tea has come a long way since it was first concocted at a small tea shop in central Taiwan 30 years ago. Not only it is the most popular drink on the island, the beverage has taken the world by its palate. Bubble tea shops can be found in Berlin, Istanbul, Paris, London, Sydney, Japan, Singapore and across China.
為人所熟知的珍珠奶茶，就是用富有嚼勁的樹薯粉珍珠與奶茶作混合。它打從三十年前於中台灣的一家小茶飲店首次被調製而成後，就聞名至今。珍珠奶茶不僅是台灣最受歡迎的飲料，還以它獨特的口味在全世界闖出一片天。到了今天，在德國柏林、土耳其伊斯坦堡、法國巴黎、英國倫敦、澳洲雪梨、日本、新加坡，以及全中國等地，都可以發現珍珠奶茶店的蹤跡。
But all this may come to a screeching halt, thanks to a toxic food starch scandal.
但是，由於一起有毒食品澱粉的醜聞，這一切可能就此戛然而止。
Since mid-May, Taiwanese health authorities have confiscated more than 312 tons of food starch – a key ingredient in bubble tea – that was found to have been tainted with maleic acid, a cheap food additive that can cause kidney failure when consumed in large doses.
自五月中起，台灣衛生署食品管理局就已經沒收了超過312頓食品澱粉，而此種原料正是珍珠奶茶的重要成份，因為當局發現在這些澱粉中含有順丁烯二酸，一種便宜的食品添加物，但卻會在大量攝取的情況下造成人類腎衰竭。
The toxic starch has also poisoned Taiwan’s food exports. On Wednesday, Malaysia announced an immediate ban on 11 food items imported from Taiwan. Singapore imposed similar ban over the weekend.
毒澱粉也使得台灣的食品出口受到影響。這個星期三，馬來西亞政府宣布即刻管制11項來自台灣的食品進口。到了週末，新加坡方面也提出了類似的管制措施。
This is the second island-wide food scare in two years after the discovery of the pervasive use of plasticizer – a chemical additive to use to make food more pliable – in May 2011.
自2011年的五月發生普遍使用塑化劑這種化學添加物來使食品更加柔軟圓滑的事件以來，兩年後的今天，第二次造成台灣舉國上下產生食品恐慌的事件又出現了。
Food starch is a common ingredient in many Taiwanese traditional dishes. Apart from bubble tea, it is also used to make gluttonous dumplings, Hakka rice noodles and sweet taro balls.
食品澱粉在許多台灣傳統小吃裡都是一種常見的原料。除了珍珠奶茶外，它也會被摻入來製作湯圓、客家粄條，還有芋圓。
“In Taiwan, deep-fried chicken nuggets and icy bubble tea are as popular and common as pepperoni pizza and cold beer in the U.S.,” said Xiao Lin, a beverage hawker at Danshui night market in New Taipei City.
一位在新北市淡水夜市擺設飲料攤的林姓業者指出：「在台灣，炸雞塊和冰珍珠奶茶的受歡迎程度與能見度就好像美國的義式臘腸披薩與冰啤酒一樣」。
The self-described “food entreprenuer” told China Real Time he can sell as many as 500 cups of bubble tea a day during the peak summer season, but now most customers are opting for cheaper drinks, such as lemonade or plum juice.
這位自稱「美食實業家」的業者還告訴媒體，他在夏天旺季時可以賣到最多一天500杯珍珠奶茶，但現在大部分的客人都轉而選擇比較便宜的飲品，像是檸檬水或是梅子汁。
Frank Chen, a sophomore at nearby Tamkang University said that, although he is a “bubble tea addict,” he and his friends will stop buying bubble tea until it has been proven safe.
在淡水夜市附近就讀淡江大學二年級的陳同學表示，雖然他是個「珍奶上癮者」，但是在珍珠奶茶能被證明安全無虞前他和朋友們都不會再繼續購買這項飲品。
“The government needs to mete out new food safety measures soon or else get ready for a strong protest. We, the food vendors of the night markets, helped put Taiwan’s food on the map and shouldn’t be punished for government’s oversight. Foreign tourists may not always buy souvenirs but they are always happy to try Taiwan’s food,” Mr. Lin said.
林姓業者還強調：「政府需要盡快給予新的食品安全規章，不然就準備好看到一場強烈的抗爭。我們這些夜市的小吃攤商，幫助台灣的美食躍上國際地圖，不應該因為政府的疏忽監督而受罰。外國來的遊客們不見得每次都會採買紀念品，但他們一定都會樂於品嘗台灣的美食」。
According to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, more than 70% of tourists to Taiwan visit night markets.
根據觀光局統計資料，超過百分之70的遊客到訪台灣時會去逛逛夜市。
The Taiwanese government promised after the plasticizer problems in 2011 that it would beef up the island’s food safety standards with an amendment to the Act Governing Food Sanitation. But the amendment remains stuck in the legislative pipeline.
台灣政府於2011年爆發塑化劑風波後曾經承諾要藉由提出食品衛生管理法的修正案來改善國內的食品安全標準。但是如今這起修正案仍然躺在立法院裡面毫無動靜。
“Have we not learned anything in two years?” asked an editorial in the United Daily, a newspaper typically sympathetic to the ruling Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party.
台灣本地媒體之一的聯合報，一向被視為傾向執政的國民黨，也在報紙其中一篇社論中提到：「我們難道在這兩年間沒有學到任何的教訓嗎？」
Taiwan’s Cabinet on Wednesday called a last-minute news conference to address the scandal, but offered little new information. Instead officials repeated calls for harsher punishment of food safety violators to be included as part of the stalled amendment.
台灣的內閣在星期三時緊急召開了記者會來說明整件醜聞，但卻提出非常少的相關新資訊。相反的，官員們只是一再重複呼籲要將破壞食品衛生規則者給予更重懲罰的規則加入目前動彈不得的相關法令修正案之中。
“The past law did not impose strict enough regulations on our food manufacturers,” health minister Chiu Wen-ta said, adding that the current system of fines “did not deter some illegal food manufacturers.”
衛生署長邱文達提及「過往的法令並沒有對我們的食品業者施以足夠的規範與約束」，他也再補充表示目前罰則的制度「無法嚇阻一些不守法的食品製造商」。
WORD STOCK
1. component (n) a part of a mechanical or electrical complex 零件
2. intensify (v) to make intense or more intense 強化
3. cement (v) to reinforce or consolidate 鞏固
4. tapioca (n) beady starch obtained from the root of the cassava, used for puddings and as a thickening agent in cooking 樹薯粉
5. chewy (adj) needing much chewing 有嚼勁的
6. concoct (v) to prepare by mixing ingredients, as in cooking 調製；調和
7. palate (n) the sense of taste 口味
8. screeching (adj) relating to a high-pitched noise resembling a human cry 發出尖銳聲響的
9. halt (n) a suspension of movement or progress, especially a temporary one 中止
10. toxic (adj) of, relating to, or caused by a toxin or other poison 有毒的
11. starch (n) a white, tasteless, solid carbohydrate, (C6H10O5)n, occurring in the form of minute granules in the seeds, tubers, and other parts of plants, and forming an important constituent of rice, corn, wheat, beans, potatoes, and many other vegetable foods 澱粉
12. scandal (n) a person, thing, or circumstance that causes or ought to cause disgrace or outrage 醜聞
13. confiscate (v) to seize by or as if by authority 沒收；扣押
14. ingredient (n) An element in a mixture or compound 成分
15. taint (v) to affect with decay or putrefaction; spoil 汙染；玷汙
16. maleic acid (n ph) a colorless crystalline acid, HO2CCH:CHCO2H, used in textile processing and as an oil and fat preservative 馬來酸(又名順丁烯二酸)
17. additive (n) a substance added in small amounts to something else to improve, strengthen, or otherwise alter it 添加物
18. consume (v) to take in as food; eat or drink up 食用
19. dose (n) a quantity of medicine prescribed to be taken at one time 劑量；用量
20. ban (v) to prohibit, especially by official decree (官方)管制；禁止
21. impose (v) to apply or make prevail by or as if by authority 施加
22. pervasive (adj) having the quality or tendency to pervade or permeate 普遍的；瀰漫的
23. plasticizer (n) any of various substances added to plastics or other materials to make or keep them soft or pliable 塑化劑
24. pliable (adj) easily bent or shaped 圓滑易折的
25. gluttonous (adj) given to or marked by gluttony 有黏性的
26. taro (n) widely cultivated tropical Asian plant having broad peltate leaves and a large starchy edible tuber 芋頭
27. hawker (n) one who sells goods aggressively, especially by calling out 叫賣的小販
28. entreprenuer (n) a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for a business venture 實業家
29. peak (n) the point of greatest development, value, or intensity 巔峰期
30. opt for (v ph) choose or decide on 選擇
31. mete out (v ph) transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody 給予
32. oversight (n) an unintentional omission or mistake 疏忽；失察
33. souvenir (n) an object that recalls a certain place, occasion, or person; memento 紀念品
34. beef up (v ph) to make or become greater or stronger 加強
35. amendment (n) an alteration or addition, as to a bill 修正案
36. Cabinet (n) A body of persons appointed by a head of state or a prime minister to head the executive departments of the government and to act as official advisers 內閣
37. harsh (adj) severe, cruel, or exacting 嚴苛的
38. stalled (adj) of halting the motion or progress of; bring to a standstill 卡住；動彈不得
39. fine (n) a sum of money required to be paid as a penalty for an offense 罰金
40. deter (v) to prevent or discourage from acting 震攝；威嚇
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