Introduction: It is worth mentioning that Haitian Flavor also sells zero-added soy sauce in China. The ingredients list only contains natural seasoning ingredients such as water, non-GMO soybeans, wheat, salt, white sugar and yeast extract.
Author | Yicai Jiu Shuyi
Within four days, Haitian Flavor Industry (603288.SH) issued a statement twice in response to the “double standard” storm.
Not long ago, Haitian Flavor Industry was exposed by several short video accounts to implement “double standards” – Haitian soy sauce sold in China contains food additives, while Haitian soy sauce sold in Japan has zero additives.
As a local consumer, the most concerned question is whether the additives are compliant, and whether zero-added soy sauce can be purchased in China?
Are additives compliant?
On September 30, Haitian Flavor responded on its official Weibo account that all Haitian products are produced in strict accordance with the Food Safety Law, and the variety, scope of use and amount of food additives used in all Haitian products are in compliance with GB2760 Food Safety Law. National Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives” and the requirements of relevant standards and regulations. At the same time, the company stated that it has appointed a team of professional lawyers to investigate and collect evidence, and the legal responsibility of malicious rumor-mongers and disseminators will be traced to the end.
The first financial reporter noticed that the additives used in many products of Haitian Flavor Industry, including “Extremely Fresh” soy sauce and “Golden Standard Light Soy Sauce”, include sodium glutamate, disodium 5′-flavor nucleotide, 5 ‘-Disodium inosinate, sodium benzoate, and sucralose. The reporter inquired in the “National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives” (GB 2760-2021) that the first two additives are flavor enhancers, disodium 5’-inosinate is a synthetic flavor for food, and sodium benzoate is a preservative. sucralose as a sweetener. The above five additives are all food additives legally used in China.
According to the above-mentioned Douyin short video account, there are no additives on the ingredient list of Haitian soy sauce sold abroad, only natural raw materials such as water, soybeans, wheat, and salt.
However, it is worth mentioning that Haitian Flavor also sells zero-added soy sauce in China. The ingredients list only contains natural flavoring ingredients such as water, non-GMO soybeans, wheat, salt, white sugar and yeast extract. 500ml of zero-added “0 gold standard light soy sauce” is 9.9 yuan, and 500ml of “gold standard light soy sauce” with additives is 15.9 yuan, but the price is higher.
Bai Wenxi, chief economist of IPG China, told Yicai.com that for soy sauce, it is a normal phenomenon to add additives appropriately in my country’s industry standards. The purpose is to stabilize product quality and ensure quality.
“Double standards” at home and abroad originate from different “national standards” in different countries
On October 4, after the incident continued to ferment for a few days, Haitian Flavor again responded to the “double standard” problem. Haitian Flavor Industry said that because the food regulations and standards of each country and region are different, the corresponding product labels are also different, so it is not too much to say that one country (region) has one standard. The product is one country (region) and one standard. The domestic and foreign food industry and even many other non-food industries do this. This does not mean that any country is better than another, and it does not mean that exports are necessarily better than domestic ones. . Just like foreign food companies entering the Chinese market, they must also strictly abide by China’s food regulations.
Due to different standards in different countries, the raw materials of soy sauce produced in different countries are also different. Yun Wuxin, a popular science writer and a doctor of biological and food engineering, publicly stated that he randomly searched for several “soy sauces sold abroad”, adding wine, syrup, sweeteners, preservatives, caramel coloring, yeast extract, licorice extract, For I+G, different manufacturers add different things, so it doesn’t matter.
He believes that, whether domestically or abroad, manufacturers are only meeting the needs of target groups on the premise of being “legal”, so as to sell things to make money. If they insist on “double standards” and “discrimination”, they are just teasing the public. Just interested. Adding or not adding, what to add, is to form their own flavor characteristics and corresponding prices for their own customer groups.
Bai Wenxi believes that the “double standard” problem of Haitian Flavor is actually caused by the different industry standards of China and Japan, not the result of the company’s active choice. Haitian Flavor has different soy sauce ingredient lists at home and abroad, as long as it does not violate the The industry standards of the country of sale and the country of manufacture are legally compliant and permitted.
Zhu Danpeng, vice-chairman of the Guangdong Food Safety Promotion Association, has a similar view. “Every country has its own standards. As a Chinese company going overseas, Haitian must comply with local standards, which is inevitable.”
Food additives are not “flood beasts”
In recent years, with the awakening of Chinese people’s health awareness, food additives have become more and more “discussed”. Previously, the “carrageenan” in ice cream was once pushed to the stage of controversy. However, according to my country’s current “National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives” (GB 2760-2021), carrageenan is a food additive legally used in China, and it is mainly used as an emulsifier, stabilizer and thickener.
In fact, food additives are not “flood beasts”. my country’s “Food Safety Law” shows that food additives refer to synthetic or natural substances added to food for the purpose of improving food quality, color, aroma, taste, and for the needs of antiseptic, fresh-keeping and processing technology, including nutritional fortifiers.
Sun Baoguo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a food expert, told the media many times at forums and events that food additives are for the purpose of improving the quality, color and aroma of food, as well as the needs of preservative preservation and processing technology. Food additives are closely related to the future development of the food industry. Inseparable, the correct use of food additives will not cause food safety problems. In recent years, my country’s management of food additives has become more and more strict. At present, there are about 2,300 kinds of food additives in my country, which is far lower than the more than 15,000 kinds that have been approved by countries around the world, and there is an unwritten rule in China that only additives used in two or more countries will be activated in China. Evaluate and decide whether to use it.
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