吉林火灾上百人亡 食品生产再受关注

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.

据中国吉林省的官员说，该省一个禽业屠宰场发生的大火已经导致至少119人死亡，数十人受伤。这让人不禁再次注意到中国糟糕的工业安全记录。

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

中国国有媒体援引工人的话说，该厂只有一道门没有锁，其他的门通常都是从外面锁住的。

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.

吉林禽业屠宰场的大火恰逢美国监管部门和消费者开始审查中国食品公司双汇国际控股有限公司(Shuanghui International Holdings Ltd.)收购美国猪肉生产商Smithfield Foods Inc.的计划之际。一个令人担心的问题是，中国拥有全球第一大猪肉生产商可能给美国食品安全带来怎样的影响。

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.

随着中国成为世界生产大国（包括食品生产），工业事故也随之而来。此外，尽管工厂安全条件差并不一定等同于食品不安全，但业内管理人士说，与食品有关的任何生产场所的问题都会增大食品在加工过程中受到污染的风险。

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.

吉林省官员说，吉林宝源丰禽业有限公司的屠宰场发生液氨泄漏，引发爆炸起火。在这场周一凌晨吉林省会长春北部发生的爆炸后几个小时，救援人员在烧毁的建筑中找到了遇难者遗体。可燃化学品液氨常常用于制冷系统。记者无法联系到该公司管理人士置评。

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

国有电视台中央电视台(CCTV)说，爆炸影响面积达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.

咨询公司中国肉业网分析师何中华说，在我的记忆中，这是肉类加工行业发生的最严重的一起事故。这家咨询公司由半官方的中国肉类协会所有。

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

随着中国食品出口大幅增长，中国的食品生产操作是外界一个日益担忧的问题。

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.

在双汇提出收购弗吉尼亚猪肉生产商Smithfield Foods后，该行业将可能获得美国国会议员、监管机构和消费者的更多关注。该交易规模为47亿美元，有望成为中国企业对美国公司的最大一桩收购案。交易仍待监管部门的批准。

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.

上周交易宣布时双汇表示，希望从Smithfield的生产过程中学习经验，同时不会将自己的生产流程强加给Smithfield。参与这宗交易的人士说，该交易可能提高中国市场对Smithfield生产的香肠、火腿和其它肉类的开放程度，并不会为拓宽双汇产品进入美国的渠道铺平道路。

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.

官方数据显示，在过去两年，每年死于工业事故的人数超过7万人。比如据新华社报道，不到两个月前在华南地区一个猪肉加工厂，约有400人因氨气泄漏受到威胁，而吉林周一发生的这场大火也是由于氨气泄漏所致。

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.

在工厂车间之外，中国社会对不安全的禽肉已经非常担心。4月初，中国卫生官员报告说，鸡鸭身上爆发了一种新型禽流感。虽然中国有关部门说，新型禽流感对人体构成的威胁已经减弱，但中国部分城市还是不允许销售新鲜禽肉。去年年末，美国快餐企业百胜餐饮集团(Yum Brands Inc.)和麦当劳(McDonald's Corp.)遭中国媒体指责。媒体称这两家公司销售的鸡肉产品源自生长过程中使用了不安全剂量的抗生素的鸡。两家公司均表示将加强对供应商的监督。

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.

更广泛地说，中国发生的工业事故正引发美国企业和消费者越来越多的共鸣。2011年，苹果(Apple Inc.)两家在华供应商发生可燃粉尘爆炸，事故造成四人死亡，至少59人受伤。事故发生后，苹果去年表示，该公司已经就承包商如何处理有关材料一事发布新的指引。

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

周一吉林这家工厂发生大火表明，想要在分散且快速扩张的中国食品业施行统一的安全标准还面临很多挑战。

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.

在失火工厂所在地德惠市，养鸡的家庭成千上万。该市自诩为肉鸡城。德惠距离中朝边境不远。

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.

在一系列受欢迎的艺术作品中，加拿大摄影师伯汀斯基(Edward Burtynsky)将外界的吸引力聚焦至德惠庞大的鸡肉生产工厂。从伯汀斯基的照片中我们可以看到，在一个房间中有几乎数不清的数千名禽肉加工工人，他们都身穿粉色工作服和蓝色围裙。

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.

德惠周边的北部地区有时也被称为中国的艾奥瓦。但成立仅有四年的宝源丰和中国食品行业的很多企业一样，规模相对较小。从发布在当地网站的一则公司简介看，宝源丰一天能处理10万只禽类。何中华说，他预计中国家禽业将面临整合的新压力，众多小企业将被整合成规模较大的企业，以便于监管。