豆芽sprouts 驗出腸出血性大腸桿菌

在德國與歐洲等國造成最少31死亡，3000多人染病的腸出血性大腸桿菌。當局有突破性發現，首次在豆芽sprouts 驗出腸出血性大腸桿菌，並確定病菌的源頭是當地一 個有機農場。德國疾控中心早前已經鎖定下薩克森州一個有機農場出產的豆芽苗是今次疫情的源頭。但當局之前在這個農場找到的 ...

on the outs
No longer on friendly terms, as in They've been on the outs with their in-laws for years. This idiom appeared in the early 1900s and derives from the synonymous at outs, first recorded in 1824.
on the outs, sprout

德國聯邦風險評估研究所（BfR），聯邦消費者保護與食品安全局（BVL）以及羅伯特·科赫研究所周五宣布，解除對生食黃瓜、番茄和生菜的警告。但對生食豆芽仍發出警告。


德國聯邦議會聯盟黨團的消費者保護專員表示，研究者做出這一結論的基礎是對菜單及供應鏈的分析結果。調查中，下薩克森州一家名為比嫩布特（Bienenbüttel）綠色農莊的豆芽越來越成為懷疑對象。

此外，聯邦風險評估研究所認為，食品和土壤的污染源是動物性肥料的可能性很小，病菌是從人體傳播到食品上。明斯特大學醫院的卡赫（Helge Karch）教授解釋說，目前傳播的病原體迄今只在人體內發現。也就是說，這種危險的出血性大腸桿菌的攜帶者是人，而不是動物。卡赫教授表示，還必須找出，是否有無症狀的病原體攜帶者，也就是體內有這種細菌，但卻沒有發病的人。

聯邦機構還表示，自5月22日以來，新增病例數持續減少。在此背景下，專家認為，可以解除生食黃瓜等蔬菜的警報。

與此同時，聯邦議會聯盟黨團認為，歐盟迄今宣佈為農民提供2100萬歐元補償金並不夠，這一金額須明顯增加。未來數週，歐委會將就補償金的金額及計算方法進行討論，並將補償金發放到農民手中。

德國農業聯合會主席桑萊特納（Gerd Sonnleitner）表示，警報解除令他輕鬆不少，他估計消費者的購買量將會恢復到正常水平。

截至週五下午，出血性大腸桿菌已導致31人死亡，約3000人感染患病。

歐委會對德國就該病菌的最新研究進展表示歡迎。與此同時，俄羅斯與歐盟舉行峰會後，俄總統梅德韋傑夫表示，將在近期內取消對歐盟蔬菜的禁運令，前提是歐盟保障食品的安全。

綜合報導：苗子

責編：邱璧輝

Russian ATMs Built To Detect Lies

New tech includes fingerprint, face and voice recognition.

By Christina Gossman | Posted Thursday, Jun. 9, 2011, at 11:58 AM EDT

They scan your passport, your fingerprints, your face and attempt to read your mind. Russian ATMs are taking banking security to another level—KGB-style, literally.

With questions such as “Are you employed?” and “At this moment, do you have any other outstanding loans?” the ATMs of Russia’s biggest retail bank, Sberbank, will detect nervousness or emotional distress to decide whether to give you money or not.

The voice analysis system used in the machines was developed by the Speech Technology Center, a company whose other big clients include the Federal Security Service, successor of the Soviet KGB, reports the New York Times. It should not come as a surprise then that law enforcement databases of recorded voices of people found to be lying during police interrogations were used to design the software.

And yes, the lie-detector ATMs adhere to Russian privacy laws, say Sberbank executives. Customers’ voice signatures will be stored as prints on their credit card chips and the bank will inform its customers about the new features.

The global financial crisis and too many outstanding loans led the Russian bank to consider automating most banking activities, according to a senior vice president for technology at the bank.

Deutsche Bank and Citigroup are among other banks now testing new technologies, though they are more interested in interactive displays and touch-screen terminals. Lie-detection technology might just be a notch too intrusive to them.

But Sberbank executive Victor Orlovsky insists: “We are not climbing into the client’s brain. … We are just trying to find out if they are telling the truth.”

Photo by Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP/Getty Images.