“如果有什么事是吃一包辣条解决不了的，那就来两包辣条压压惊！”
对于很多80后、90后的朋友们来说，辣条可谓是“居家旅行，必备良品”。
What kind of food do you prefer to snack on? In China, many people may choose a latiao. Also known as "spice sticks", latiao is made from flour, spicy oil and food additives. This tasty snack is quite cheap, as each packet of latiao is usually sold for two yuan (around 0.3 US dollars). The humble snack is incredibly popular among children and young adults, and it can be seen in every school tuck shop, convenience store and supermarket.
然而最近辣条这个零食圈“扛把子”却摊上大事儿了。
日前，六批次来自河南省企业生产的辣条被湖北省食品药品监督管理局公布为不合格产品，其中包括知名辣条品牌“卫龙”生产的几款产品。9月5日，湖北省食品药品监督管理局相关负责人表示，湖北全省已下架所有涉事批次辣条。据介绍，这六批次辣条不合格的原因是因为添加了“山梨酸及其钾盐”和“脱氢乙酸”等防腐剂。
However, the cheap delicacy was recently hit by a scandal in central China's Hubei Province. Last Thursday, Hubei Food and Drug Administration announced that six latiao batches, all manufactured in several factories in north China's Henan Province, were below food safety standards. These products were all pulled from shelves on Wednesday.
According to the Hubei Food and Drug Administration, these snacks were judged as substandard because they used sorbic and dehydroacetic acids, two food preservatives that are not allowed in flavored flour products.
然而涉事品牌卫龙则发表声明称，卫龙一直执行现行有效的地方标准，卫龙产品生产完全合法合规。
双方产生分歧的原因其实在于河南、湖北两地对于辣条生产参照标准不同。根据河南省的地方标准，辣条参照的是糕点类食品的生产标准，允许添加使用防腐剂；而湖北则依据国家标准，将辣条归入调味面制品，这一类食品生产则不允许使用防腐剂。
Weilong Food, whose latiao products were declared as substandard, issued a statement on its official weibo account on Tuesday and said that their products meet the requirements of food production standards in Henan Province.
The reason that caused a scandal is because of the different food safety standards employed by the different provinces. In Hubei, latiao is classified as a flavored flour product, which is based on national food production standards that prevent the use of food preservatives. But in Henan, the local standards regard latiao as a pastry, meaning that adding food preservatives during production is allowed.
辣条“下架”也引起了社交网络上一众辣条爱好者的热议。
很多网友表示“辣条诚可贵，生命价更高”，食品安全问题不能马虎，支持辣条生产参照更为严格的国家标准。
然而辣条“拥趸”则表示“无所畏惧”：“我都吃辣条了，我还在乎健康吗！”
虽然辣条一直被认为是“垃圾食品”，但是不少网友还是割舍不下对辣条的爱。不少人还戏称自己是“吃着辣条长大的”。社交网络上，关于辣条的各种搞笑段子和表情包也是层出不穷。
而国内的辣条生产行业也在迅速发展。凤凰财经的报道显示，2009年到2016年间，辣条的市场销售额从170多亿元增至510亿元。2018年，销售额预计将超过600亿元。
这几年，辣条甚至火到了海外。在亚马逊和eBay等国外购物网站，如今都能买到辣条；而在视频网站YouTube上，也有不少国外的“油管红人”们拍摄的吃辣条视频。
Though latiao has long been nicknamed "spicy junk", it still ranks at the top of the list of Chinese people's favorite snacks. Its massive popularity has also inspired Chinese netizens to create various memes and jokes on social media.
The latiao industry has also developed rapidly in recent years. According to the statistics from finance.ifeng.com, between 2009 to 2016, sales of latiao in China soared from 17 to 51 billion yuan. This year, sales are estimated to reach over 60 billion yuan.
The snack has fans and enthusiasts overseas as well. The snacks are now sold on foreign sites like Amazon and eBay, and many famous vloggers have shared videos of them tasting latiao on YouTube.
在快速发展的同时，辣条产业也面临着一系列的问题。除了本次“下架事件”所涉及的食品生产标准问题，辣条的生产工艺技术、品牌建设、产品营养健康化等方面都亟待解决。
However, it is important to note that the latiao industry has confronted a lot of issues as it has developed. Besides for food production standards, issues such as upgrading how the latiao is made and building the brand have been, and will continue to be, taken into consideration. As health consciousness rises, customers are upping their expectations for what latiao companies can provide.