During the National Day holiday, the national condiment brand Haitian Flavor Industry (SH603288, stock price 82.82 yuan, market value 383.77 billion yuan) fell into the controversy of "double standards".
Recently, some netizens and self-media said that the ingredients list of products sold in Haitian soy sauce in China and abroad are different. Soy sauce products sold in China contain additives, while products sold in foreign countries do not contain additives.
A short video blogger said that Haitian Flavor Industry's soy sauce is "Hex Technology Food". "Hex Technology" was originally a game term, referring to the fusion of magic and technology, and was used by netizens as a metaphor for the synthesis of food additives.
In the face of doubts, Haitian Flavor Industry issued a statement on September 30 to respond. Since then, the "double standard" storm has continued to ferment on the online platform. Late at night on October 4, Haitian Flavor Industry issued another article to respond that most of the internal control standards of Haitian products are higher than or even far higher than the national standards. The domestic and international internal control standards of products of the same quality are consistent. In the early morning of October 5, China Condiments Association also spoke: "Support condiments companies affected by public opinion to protect their rights in accordance with the law."
On October 5, the topic #Haitian Flavor Industry issued another statement denied the double standards# became the first hot search on Weibo.
In addition, according to Shanghai Securities News , many industry experts said that food additives and illegal use of additives are two concepts. Food additives are indispensable partners in daily life, so we should look at the problem of food additives rationally. Wei Xiangyun , executive president of the China Condiments Association, said that compound condiments does contain food additives, but the use of food additives is essential in the industrial production of food. Usually, food safety problems are caused by counterfeit and shoddy products or the use of food additives that do not meet the standards. It is safe to choose condiments that add food additives that meet national and industry standards. Only excessive use of food additives is harmful.
Haitian Flavor Industry:
Domestic and international internal control standards are consistent
Regarding the dispute over food additives, Haitian Flavor Industry issued a statement on the evening of October 4 saying that food additives have become an indispensable part of the modern food industry. Food additives are widely used in food manufacturing in countries around the world. All countries have clear regulations and standards for food additives. These standards themselves do not have a distinction between high and low or good or bad.
"Simply think that foreign products have few food additives, or that products with additives are not good, are misunderstandings. Haitian has also launched many delicious and inexpensive zero-additive products ten years ago to meet the needs of different consumers." Haitian Flavor Industry said in a statement.
Haitian Flavor Industry said that it is impossible to draw conclusions that Chinese food is worse than foreign food from food additives. Using food additives to mislead consumers to believe that Chinese food is worse than foreign foods is either because they don’t know the truth or have ulterior motives.
Regarding the "double standards" dispute, Haitian Flavor Industry stated that since the food regulations and standards in each country and region are different, the corresponding product logos are also different, so it is not an exaggeration to say that one country (region) is one standard. As diversified consumer demand becomes more and more obvious, customized products will inevitably bring more and more product logos.
Haitian Flavor Industry stated that most of the internal control standards requirements for Haitian products are higher than or even far higher than national standards. Products of the same quality are consistent with domestic and international internal control standards.
China Condiments Association made a statement:
Supports condiment enterprises to protect their rights in accordance with the law
China Condiment Association issued the "Statement on Purifying the Market Environment and Guides Condiment Enterprises to High-Quality Development of " on October 5. The statement said that rumors of "double standards" have spread wildly online, which has had a serious impact on the festival catering industry and the condiment market, and supports condiment companies affected by public opinion to protect their rights in accordance with the law.
In response to the rumor of "double standards", the statement stated that the production and operation of food manufacturers in my country should comply with the provisions of my country's laws, regulations and corresponding standards, and the exported products should comply with the provisions of the laws, regulations and corresponding standards of the exporting country or comply with the technical terms of the import and export trade contract signed by both parties.Due to different diet and consumption habits in different countries, the standard requirements for the same type of products will vary. However, there is no distinction between high and low standards itself.
Regarding the dispute over food additives, the statement mentioned that the management of food additives in my country implements a strict approval and management system, and the scope and limit requirements of food additives are all subject to food safety risk assessment by authoritative institutions and proved to be safe and reliable. Scientific and reasonable use of food additives can not only meet the needs of various soy sauce flavors, but also improve product quality and food safety level.
There are also zero additive products sold in China,
Price is not high
Recently, multiple Douyin short video accounts revealed that Haitian soy sauce sold in China contains food additives, while Haitian soy sauce sold in Japan has zero additives, so it is questioned that Haitian Flavor Industry is implementing the "double standards".
Daily Economic News reporter saw from the ingredients list of a bottle of Haitian Gold Label Soy Soybeans used in the home that in addition to natural raw materials, the main additives are sodium glutamate , 5'-Chengwei nucleotide disodium , 5'- disodium inosine , sodium benzoate , sucralose , which is basically the same as the ingredients list of Haitian soybean sauce posted by most netizens. The reporter found that among the above five additives, the first three are flavor enhancer , sodium benzoate is a commonly used food preservative, and sucralose is a sweetener.
Ingredients list of Haitian's soy sauce products. Picture source: Reporter Wang Fan of Meike.
Haitian soy sauce is not the only option to contain additives. The Hongxing Capital Bureau found that Haitian Flavor Industry's "Toudao Soy Sauce", " gold standard soy sauce ", and "straw mushroom soy sauce" have launched two styles with additives and zero additives. Zero additive-related Haitian soy sauce can be purchased on e-commerce platforms.
Red Star Capital Bureau checked the ingredient list of Haitian Soy Sauce "0 Gold Label Soup" with zero addition. The ingredients list is water, non-GMO soy , edible salt (not iodized), wheat, white sugar, yeast extract, etc. The details page indicates that 0% of the product is added to preservatives (sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate ), sweeteners (sucraclase, aceme ), MSG, and defat soybeans during the production process. From the ingredients list, we can see that this soy sauce is consistent with the "Haitian soy sauce sold in Japan" mentioned by Douyin netizens.
In addition to the different ingredients lists, the two Haitian soy sauces also have slight differences in prices, and the shelf life is the same. The specific differences between
are reflected in the fact that in Haitian’s official Tmall flagship store, a bottle of “0 gold standard soy sauce” is priced at 9.9 yuan, while the package price of the classic “gold standard soy sauce” is 20.9 yuan, which is equivalent to 10.45 yuan per bottle. The price of soy sauce with additives is even more expensive.
In terms of sodium content, for every 15 ml (ml) of soy sauce, the sodium content of zero additives is less than 1000mg (mg), and the sodium content of some additives is more than 1000mg (mg).
Haitian Flavor Industry specializes in seasonings, and its products cover more than 100 varieties such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, sauce, vinegar, etc. The 2022 semi-annual report stated that the company's annual output value exceeded 20 billion yuan, and Haitian Soy Sauce's production and sales volume ranked first in the country for 25 consecutive years.
In the first half of this year, Haitian Flavor Industry's revenue was 13.532 billion yuan, an increase of 9.73% year-on-year (compared to the same period last year); net profit attributable to shareholders of listed companies was 3.393 billion yuan, an increase of 1.21% year-on-year; basic earnings per share was 0.73 yuan per share.
At the 2022 semi-annual performance briefing of Haitian Flavor Industry, Pang Kang, chairman of Haitian Flavor Industry, admitted that judging from the goal of annual revenue of 28 billion yuan and profit of 7.47 billion yuan this year, "it is indeed facing very great pressure at present." But Pang Kang said that there are still a few months left in the second half of the year and will not adjust the target.
editing| He Xiaotao Dubo
proofreading| Yang Jun
Daily Economic News Comprehensive Red Star News, Meijing APP, Shanghai Securities News, etc.
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