Are spotty fruits and vegetables safe to eat? - Elizabeth Brauer

譯者: Helen Chang 審譯者: S Sung

In 2010, $30 billion worth of fruits and vegetables

2010年，價值三百億美元的蔬果

were wasted by American retailers and shoppers

被美國零售商和消費者浪費掉了，

in part because of cosmetic problems and perceived spoilage.

部份原因在於外觀和認為已變質。

That's a poor use of about 30% of the produce on the market,

市場上約30％的蔬果 就這樣被糟蹋了，

not to mention the water and energy required to grow and transport it,

遑論用來種植和運輸 所耗費掉的水和能源，

and the landfill space getting used up by rotting fruit.

和掩埋腐爛水果用掉的垃圾場空間。

So what are those cosmetic problems?

什麼導致了外觀的問題呢？

You've probably passed over a spotty apple in the grocery store,

你或曾略過雜貨店裡有斑點的蘋果，

or accidentally sunk your thumb into a mushy patch on a tomato.

或者拇指曾經不小心 插入了番茄糊爛的部份。

These blemishes can doom produce to the trash can.

這些瑕疵可引致蔬果 被丟入垃圾桶的厄運。

But what are they anyway,

到底是什麼，

and are they actually bad for you?

真的對你有害嗎？

Those spots are evidence of an epic battle between plants and microbes.

這些斑點是植物和微生物間 如同史詩般的戰鬥後所留下的證據。

Like humans, plants coexist with billions of fungi and bacteria.

像人類一樣，植物和 數十億的真菌、細菌共存。

Some of these microbes are beneficial to the plant,

有些微生物對植物有益，

suppressing disease and helping it extract nutrients.

會抑制疾病，並助其吸收營養素；

Others are pathogens, attacking the produce,

其他的則是會攻擊農產品的病原體，

still alive as it sits in a store display or your refrigerator

活在店面展示架上或者你的冰箱中，

and siphoning off molecules they can use themselves.

將植物的分子納為己用。

The good news is they're almost never bad for you.

好消息是，它們幾乎都對你無害。

These fungi and bacteria have spent millions of years

這些真菌和細菌 經過幾百萬年的演化，

developing strategies to overcome a plant's immune system.

以勝過植物的免疫系統。

But healthy human immune systems are different enough

但健康人的免疫系統非常的不同，

that those strategies just don't work on us.

那些戰略對我們無效。

So in a plant, what does this process look like?

到底微生物在植物中 進行什麼樣的過程呢？

Microbes can reach plants in a number of ways,

微生物可經由許多方式進到植物內，

like getting splashed onto it during watering or fertilization.

像是在澆水或施肥時濺上去。

Under the right conditions,

在適當的條件下，

the microbes grow into large enough colonies

微生物的菌落長得夠大，

to attack the waxy outer layer of fruit or leaves.

攻擊果實或樹葉的外層蠟質，

Their target: the delicious sugars and nutrients inside.

目標是裡面美味的糖和營養素。

This type of pathogen often makes spots like this.

這類病原體常弄出這樣的斑點。

A clump of bacteria drains the nutrients and color from the fruit's cells

叢聚的細菌使水果細胞 失去顏色和營養素，

making that yellow halo.

變得暈黃。

It then moves outward,

接著，細菌向外移動，

leaving a black spot of dead cells in its wake.

身後留下死細胞的黑點；

Each spot, which could contain hundreds of thousands of microbes

每個點含有成千上萬的微生物，

is actually caused by a combination of microbial attack

實際上是由微生物的侵襲 和植物主體自衛共同引起的。

and the host defending itself.

For example, this is the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae.

例如，這病原體是 「細菌性斑點病菌」。

Once on a tomato, it enters the fruit and leaves,

一旦進入番茄的葉和果實，

multiplies in the space between the cells,

便在細胞間的小空隙裡 以倍數成長，

and produces toxins and proteins

產生毒素和蛋白質，

that allow it to disrupt the plant's immune response.

得以擾亂植物的免疫應對機制。

One toxin coronatine makes plants' stomata open up,

毒素「冠菌素」會打開植物的氣孔，

allowing bacteria to enter more freely.

讓細菌自由進入。

Coronatine also activates pathways leading to chlorophyll degradation,

冠菌素也打通分解葉綠素的途徑，

which you can see as yellow spots.

造成這樣的黃斑。

As the bacteria continue to feed and multiply,

細菌持續進食和繁殖，

they start to kill off the plant cells.

殺死植物的細胞。

That explains spots, but what about mushy blemishes?

前面解釋了斑點起因。

是什麼造成糊爛的瑕疵呢？

Those are usually caused when the fruit is attacked by microbes

通常是在果實與植株分離後， 因微生物的侵蝕而發生的。

after it's detached from the plant.

If the plant is wounded during transport,

如果植物在運輸過程中瘀傷，

necrotic fungi can infiltrate through the wound,

壞死真菌可通過傷口侵入，

kill the cells,

殺死細胞，

absorb their nutrients,

吸收它們的養分，

and leave your food looking mushy or brown.

使食物看來棕色或糊爛。

Those spots in particular can taste pretty bad.

那樣的斑點部位，嚐起來尤其糟糕。

You're eating dead and decomposing tissue, after all.

畢竟，咬的是正在分解的死亡組織。

But you can usually salvage the rest of the fruit.

但你通常可以搶救部份殘餘的果實，

The non-mushy spots, like the ones you typically see on apples or tomatoes,

至於那些表面有瘀傷， 但並不糊爛的蘋果或蕃茄，

are just on the surface and don't usually affect flavor.

通常不影響風味。

Of course, microbes that do make us sick, like E. coli and salmonella,

當然，有些微生物會致病， 像「大腸桿菌」和「沙門氏菌」，

can hitch a ride on vegetables, too.

也會沾上蔬菜。

But because they're not plant pathogens, they don't typically cause spots.

但由於它們不是植物的病原體， 通常不引起斑點。

They just hang out invisibly on the surface.

它們只附著於表面，不易被察覺。

So it's washing fruit and veggies, not avoiding the spotty ones,

所以，是清洗水果和蔬菜， 而不是避掉斑點，

that will help you avoid getting sick.

能幫助你避免生病。

So the next time you're at the grocery store,

因此，下一次你在雜貨店時，

don't be afraid to pick up funky-looking fruit.

不要怕拿起外貌不佳的水果；

Some stores will even give you a discount.

有些商店甚至會打折促銷。

Wash them well and store them properly,

徹底地清洗，適當地儲存，

as some produce like apples and cabbages will keep in the fridge for weeks.

像蘋果和捲心菜 可在冰箱裡保存數星期。

The spotty ones may not be eye candy, but they're safe and just as delicious.

雖然有斑點的看來並不秀色可餐，

但它們一樣安全和美味。