VOA标准英语2012--US Appetite Grows for Gluten-Free Foods

 

US Appetite Grows for Gluten-Free Foods

The aroma¹ of freshly-baked cookies fills Lucy's bakery in Norfolk, Virginia. While they look like the typical sweets you'd find in grocery stores, these treats are anything but ordinary.

“Especially special because I don’t use typical ingredients," says Lucy Gibney, an emergency room physician who founded the company. "Most cookies are made from wheat flour, butter, eggs, and none of those are in our recipes.”

Nor do any of Lucy’s cookies contain gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley² and rye, which many people are sensitive to.

“I made cookies with these recipes at home for my son who has food allergies³ and can’t eat gluten, milk or egg, peanuts and tree nuts," Gibney says.

What began as tasty recipes for her son developed, in four years, into a company that expects to earn $5 million in revenue this year. At the recent Fancy Food Show in Washington, Lucy’s booth drew steady foot traffic. 

“I liked what I saw on her Website," says Marilyn Klemm, who owns retail⁴ stores in New Hampshire, and is a potential buyer. "I thought I would come and try because my customers are asking more and more for gluten free.”

Down the aisle⁵, Ted⁶ Vogelman, with Sticky Fingers Bakeries, a 25-year-old company in the state of Washington, offers gluten-free scones⁷.

"We just started producing gluten free for this show," Vogelman says, "basically because of the request of our customers that we carry gluten free.”

Sticky Fingers and Lucy's are among the 300 companies presenting gluten free products here, says show official, Louise Krammer.

“That is way up. We saw it began a few years ago with maybe 20 to 40 companies with gluten free products," Krammer says. "And we are seeing a lot of better products now coming out, not only more but better.”

According to a recent market survey, sales of gluten-free products exceeded $6.2 billion in 2011. 

Alessio Fasano, director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research, is not surprised at the new interest in gluten-free diets.

“One of the reasons is that celiac disease, the most known and studied condition that is related to gluten is much more frequent than we believed before," Fasano says. "Besides celiac disease there is gluten sensitivity that seems to affect to many more people something like six percent of population or 18 million people.”

According to Fasano, gluten intolerance, which has a wide range of symptoms from headaches to infertility⁸, was originally identified in Europeans, but it is now seen more often in North Africa, the Middle East and China.

Even people who can tolerate gluten sometimes choose not to eat it.

“I don’t have gluten intolerance, no," says Vinnie Pamula, a food show visitor. "But I feel better when I eat gluten free food sometimes.” 

As more consumers like Pamula try to avoid gluten, while still enjoying tasty snacks and meals, more gluten free products are moving out from specialty⁹ stores and showing up on regular grocery shelves. 

1 aroma   

n.香气，芬芳，芳香

参考例句：

• The whole house was filled with the aroma of coffee.满屋子都是咖啡的香味。
• The air was heavy with the aroma of the paddy fields.稻花飘香。

2 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

3 allergies   

n.[医]过敏症；[口]厌恶，反感；（对食物、花粉、虫咬等的）过敏症( allergy的名词复数 )；变态反应，变应性

参考例句：

• Food allergies can result in an enormous variety of different symptoms. 食物过敏会引发很多不同的症状。 来自辞典例句
• Let us, however, examine one of the most common allergies; hayfever. 现在让我们来看看最常见的变态反应的一种--枯草热。 来自辞典例句

4 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

5 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

6 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

7 scones   

n.烤饼，烤小圆面包( scone的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• scones and jam with clotted cream 夹有凝脂奶油和果酱的烤饼
• She makes scones and cakes for the delectation of visitors. 她烘制了烤饼和蛋糕供客人享用。 来自辞典例句

8 infertility   

n.不肥沃，不毛；不育

参考例句：

• It is the Geneva, Switzerland-based Biotech Company's second recombinant infertility drug. 它是瑞士生物技术公司在日内瓦的公司生产的第二种重组治疗不孕症的药。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术制药疫苗
• Endometritis is a cause of infertility. 子宫内膜炎是不育的原子。 来自辞典例句

9 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。