英译汉
In the European Union, carrots must be firm but not woody, cucumbers must not be too curved and celery has to be free of any type of cavity. This was the law, one that banned overly curved, extra-knobbly or oddly shaped produce from supermarket shelves.
But in a victory for opponents of European regulation, 100 pages of legislation determining the size, shape and texture of fruit and vegetables have been torn up. On Wednesday, EU officials agreed to axe rules laying down standards for 26 products, from peas to plums.
In doing so, the authorities hope they have killed off regulations routinely used by critics - most notably in the British media - to ridicule the meddling tendencies of the EU.
After years of news stories about the permitted angle or curvature of fruit and vegetables,the decision Wednesday also coincided with the rising price of commodities. With the cost of the weekly supermarket visit on the rise, it has become increasingly hard to defend the act of throwing away food just because it looks strange.
Beginning in July next year, when the changes go into force, standards on the 26 products will disappear altogether. Shoppers will the be able to chose their produce whatever its appearance.
Under a compromise reached with national governments, many of which opposed the changes, standards will remain for 10 types of fruit and vegetables, including apples, citrus fruit,peaches, pears, strawberries and tomatoes.
But those in this category that do not meet European norms will still be allowed onto the market, providing they are marked as being substandard or intended for cooking or processing.
"This marks a new dawn for the curvy cucumber and the knobbly carrot," said Mariann Fischer Boel, European commissioner for agriculture, who argued that regulations were better left to market operators."
In these days of high food prices and general economic difficulties," Fischer Boel added,"consumers should be able to choose from the widest range of products possible. It makes no sense to throw perfectly good products away, just because they are the 'wrong' shape."
That sentiment was not shared by 16 of the EU's 27 nations - including Greece, France, the Czech Republic, Spain, Italy and Poland - which tried to block the changes at a meeting of the Agricultural Management Committee.Several worried that the abolition of standards would lead to the creation of national ones, said one official speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.
Copa-Cogeca, which represents European agricultural trade unions and cooperatives, also criticized the changes. "We fear that the absence of EU standards will lead member states to establish national standards and that private standards will proliferate," said its secretary general, Pekka Pesonen.But the decision to scale back on standards will be welcomed by euro-skeptics who have long pilloried the EU executive's interest in intrusive regulation.
One such controversy revolved around the correct degree of bend in bananas - a type of fruit not covered by the Wednesday ruling.
In fact, there is no practical regulation on the issue. Commission Regulation (EC) 2257/94 says that bananas must be "free from malformation or abnormal curvature," though Class 1 bananas can have "slight defects of shape" and Class 2 bananas can have full "defects of shape."
By contrast, the curvature of cucumbers has been a preoccupation of European officials. Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1677/88 states that Class I and "Extra class" cucumbers are allowed a bend of 10 millimeters per 10 centimeters of length. Class II cucumbers can bend twice as much.
It also says cucumbers must be fresh in appearance, firm, clean and practically free of any visible foreign matter or pests, free of bitter taste and of any foreign smell.
Such restrictions will disappear next year, and about 100 pages of rules and regulations will go as well, a move welcomed by Neil Parish, chairman of the European Parliament's agriculture committee.
"Food is food, no matter what it looks like," Parish said. "To stop stores selling perfectly decent food during a food crisis is morally unjustifiable. Credit should be given to the EU agriculture commissioner for pushing through these proposals. Consumers care about the taste and quality of food, not how it looks."
参考译文：
胡萝卜必须硬挺水灵，黄瓜不能太弯，芹菜不能有任何孔洞，这是欧盟之前一度实行的硬性规定。按照该规定，如果蔬果弯度过大、疙疙瘩瘩或者奇形怪状，将禁止在超市上架销售。
不过，有关蔬果尺寸、形状和口感的长达 100 页的法律规定将予以废除，对于一向反对该项法律的人士来说这是一大胜利。周三，欧盟官员通过决议，将取消对豌豆、李子等 26 种蔬果设定的强制标准。
此前，批评人士特别是英国媒体经常拿这些规定开涮，指责欧盟有过度干预之嫌。通过修改这部法律，欧盟希望不再授人口实。
多年来，有关蔬果弯度标准的报道经常见诸媒体报端。在欧盟周三通过上述决议之际，商品价格也在节节攀升。民众用于超市购物的生活成本不断增加，此时再仅以外形不达标为由禁止相关蔬果上架销售就更加站不住脚了。修订后的法律于明年七月开始正式生效，届时有关 26 种产品的强制标准将被彻底废除，同类产品不论外观如何将同时上架，供消费者随意挑选。
欧盟许多成员国反对修改这部法律。按照欧盟委员会与各成员国政府达成的折衷方案，对包括苹果、柑橘类水果、桃、梨、草莓和西红柿在内的 10 种蔬果的强制标准将以保留。不过，这 10 类蔬果中即使相关产品不达标也可上市销售，但必须注明是不达标产品或者烹调、加工专用产品。
欧盟委员会农业问题专员玛丽安·菲舍尔·伯尔认为,最好由市场运营商自行做出相关规定。她说，“法律修订对于弯黄瓜和有节胡萝卜而言是新黎明的到来/法律修订后意味着弯黄瓜和有节胡萝卜今后也可以上市销售了。”
“当前食品价格居高不下，经济大环境也不景气，”菲舍尔 ·伯尔补充说，“应该给消费者提供尽可能多的选择。有些产品本身品质没什么问题，如果仅仅因为外形不达标就白白扔掉的话，实在说不过去。”欧盟 27 个成员国中有 16 个对这种说法持有异议。希腊、法国、捷克、西班牙、意大利和波兰等国家曾在农业管理委员会的一次会议上试图阻止欧盟修改这项法律。一位因问题敏感而要求不具名的欧盟官员说，有几个国家担心，一旦取消了欧盟强制标准，各国可能会纷纷推出本国标准。代表欧洲农业工会和合作社的游说团体柯巴—柯杰卡(Copa-Cogeca)也反对修改这项法律。该团体秘书长佩卡﹒贝松宁说，“我们担心，如果取消了欧盟统一强制标准， 各
成员国将纷纷设定国家标准，私立标准也将会激增。”不过，取消强制标准的决议受到了欧元怀疑论者的欢迎。他们对于欧盟委员会干预性的规定一向颇有微词。其中一项争议是香蕉弯度标准问题。在周三通过的决议中并没有涉及香蕉。
事实上，关于这一问题根本就没有具体规定。《欧盟委员会规定》中第 2254/94 条规定，香蕉产品“不得畸形或弯度异常”，不过，该规定还指出，一级香蕉可以有“轻度外形瑕疵”，二级香蕉则不限“外形瑕疵”。
相比之下，欧盟官员一直关注的是黄瓜弯度标准问题。欧盟委员会规定》中第 1677/88条规定，一级和“特级”黄瓜的弯度标准为每 10 厘米长弯度不得超过 10 毫米，二级黄瓜不得超过 20 毫米。该条款还规定，黄瓜必须外表新鲜、硬挺、干净，不得有任何明显异物或虫害痕迹，无苦味、异味。
明年所有这些硬性标准都将寿终正寝，届时长达百页的相关规定也将予以废除。欧洲议会农业委员会主席尼尔﹒帕里什对此表示赞同。
“不管外观如何，食品终究是„食‟品”，帕里什说，“粮食危机期间禁止品质没有任何问题的产品上市销售情理不容。欧盟农业委员会最终通过了修改相关法律的决议，值得称赞。消费者真正关心的是食品的味道和品质，而不是外观。”
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