【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】
在欧盟，市场出售的胡萝卜必须脆而不糠，黄瓜也不能太弯，芹菜一点空心都不能有。因为过去法规禁止超市出售外形过弯、疙疙瘩瘩或者外形奇怪的农产品。但是最终反对这条欧盟法规的人士取得了胜利，这意味着约100页规定果蔬尺寸、外形和质地的相关法规得以废除。周三，欧盟有关领导人同意废除对部分农产品的强制性标准，范围涉及豌豆、李子等26个品种。
以英国媒体为首，各界批评家常就这一法规对欧盟动辄插手干涉的作风冷嘲热讽。有关部门希望此举能息事宁人/ 正是基于这一现状促使有关部门将其废除。
老百姓去超市购物的花费每周都在上涨，在这种情况下，就因为蔬菜水果长得不够标准就扔掉，实在说不过去
明年七月开始，这些法规将被正式废除。届时，26种产品的标准将会一齐消失。消费者将能够随心所欲地挑选商品，无论它们的摸样是好是坏。
因为不少欧盟国家政府反对废除这一法规。作为妥协，包括苹果、柑橘类、桃子、梨、草莓和番茄等10种蔬菜水果的相关标准将予以保留。
不过就算上述这类果蔬达不到欧盟的标准，只要注明非达标产品或专为烹饪及加工使用，仍然允许其上市销售
欧盟委员会农业委员玛丽安•菲舍尔•伯尔表示：“这标志着弯黄瓜和坑坑洼洼的胡萝卜能重回市场了”，并提倡这类法规应由市场上的经营者说了算。
菲舍尔•伯尔补充道：“在食品价格居高、经济普遍堪忧的境况下，应该为消费者提供尽可能多的产品来选择。只因为外形不符合标准就把质量上乘的产品扔掉，这种做法毫无道理”。
到明年这些限制将会取消，同时约100页相关法律法规也会一并失效。对于这一举措，欧洲议会农业委员会主席Neil Parish表示赞同。
“不管长的怎么样，食品毕竟只是食品。在粮食危机的当下还禁止商家出售质量尚好的农产品，这从道德层面说不过去。欧盟委员会农业委员推动这些提案通过的做法值得称赞。毕竟，消费者关心的是食品味道和品质，而不是长得什么样”。
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