Haitian Flavor Industry (603288.SH), a time-honored Chinese brand of soy sauce, has recently been revealed by several Douyin short video accounts that Haitian soy sauce sold in China contains food additives, while Haitian soy sauce sold in Japan contains zero additives. Therefore, it is questioned that Haitian Flavor is implementing the "double standard".

　　Subsequently, #haitianweiye responded to the controversy over soy sauce additives# on Weibo hot search.

Haitian Flavor responded that it complied with the national standard, but after the response, the doubts of netizens did not dissipate immediately: Why is the ingredient list of Haitian soy sauce different at home and abroad?

Are food with zero additives healthier?

　　Some people in the food industry said in an interview with the Red Star Capital Bureau that most of the food is in line with the taste of the public, and food additives can further make up for the lack of raw materials and make it meet the expectations of consumers.

As long as the amount does not exceed the standard, there is no harm to the human body.

Soy sauce sold abroad has 0 additions, and domestic sales have more additives

　　According to several Douyin short video accounts, 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, while domestic ones sold in addition to natural raw materials There are many additives.

　　The main additives in Haitian soy sauce products are sodium glutamate, disodium 5'-flavor nucleotide, disodium 5'-inosinate, sodium benzoate, and sucralose.

Red Star Capital Bureau inquired on the use standard "National Food Safety Standard Food Additives Use Standard" (GB 2760-2014), the first three are flavor enhancers, sodium benzoate is a commonly used food preservative, and sucralose is sweet flavoring agent.

　　As a result, Haitian products are deeply involved in the food additive controversy on the online social platform.

　　On the evening of September 30, Haitian Flavor's official Weibo responded, "The use of food additives in all Haitian products and their labels comply with my country's relevant standards and regulations." Haitian Flavor also stated, "We not only have the best-selling gold standard soy sauce for many years. , Straw Mushroom Dark Soy Sauce and other classic products, there are also delicious and inexpensive 0-addition series, organic soy sauce series and other innovative products that meet the preferences of different consumers.”

Haitian Soy Sauce also has 0 additives and the selling price is not high

　　The products that Haitian Soy Sauce promotes to domestic consumers are not the only option with additives.

The Red Star Capital Bureau found that Haitian Flavor’s products such as “Toudao Soy Sauce”, “Golden Label Soy Sauce”, and “Straw Mushroom Dark Soy Sauce” have respectively launched two styles with additives and zero additives.

Zero-additive-related Haitian soy sauce can be purchased on e-commerce platforms.

　　The Red Star Capital Bureau checked the ingredient list of the zero-added Haitian soy sauce "0 Gold Standard Light Soy Sauce".

The ingredients list is water, non-GMO soybeans, edible salt (without iodine), wheat, white sugar, yeast extract, etc.

The details page states that 0% preservatives (sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate), sweeteners (sucralose, acesulfame potassium), monosodium glutamate, and defatted soybeans are added to this product during the production process.

It can be seen from the ingredient list that this soy sauce is the same as the "Haitian soy sauce sold in Japan" in the mouth of Douyin netizens.

　　In addition to the difference in the ingredient list, the two Haitian soy sauces also have slight differences in price and the same shelf life.

　　The specific difference is reflected in, for example, in Haitian's official Tmall flagship store, the price of a bottle of "0 Gold Standard Light Soy Sauce" is 9.9 yuan, while the set price (2 bottles) of the classic "Gold Standard Light Soy Sauce" is 20.9 yuan, which is equivalent to 10.45 yuan per bottle Yuan, soy sauce with additives is more expensive.

　　In terms of sodium content, per 15ml (ml) of soy sauce, the sodium content of the zero additive version is less than 1000mg (mg), and the sodium content of the additive version is higher than 1000mg (mg).

Industry insiders: Putting or not adding additives is mainly to cater to consumers

　　According to the "National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives" (GB 2760-2014), food additives refer to chemically synthesized or added to food for the purpose of improving food quality, color, aroma and taste, as well as for the needs of anti-corrosion and processing technology. natural substance.

　　Regarding the issue of Haitian soy sauce food additives, Dr. Yun Wuxin, a food engineer, thought it was a normal phenomenon.

"Whether at home or abroad, manufacturers only meet the needs of target groups on the premise of 'legal', so as to sell things to make money. Adding or not adding, what to add, is formed for their own customer groups. Flavor characteristics and corresponding prices." Yun Wuxin posted the above comments on Weibo.

　　Not only soy sauce, but other foods will also be properly put into food additives.

　　"Most of the food is in line with the taste of the public, and food additives can further make up for the lack of raw materials and make it meet the expectations of consumers. As long as the amount does not exceed the standard, there is no harm to the human body." An industry insider in the food industry accepted the Red Star Capital Bureau. said in an interview.

Taking wine as an example, the main additive of wine is potassium metabisulfite, which will release irritating sulfur dioxide gas when it contacts with acid, which has strong antibacterial and antiseptic effect.

　　In recent years, soy sauce manufacturers have launched products with "zero additives" as the selling point.

　　In this regard, Chang Cheng, a part-time pharmaceutical researcher at Nanjing Kangzhuang Asset Management Co., Ltd., believes that zero-added food is a manifestation of manufacturers catering to the public's pursuit of healthy diet, and consumers should treat food additives rationally.

"Consumers usually take zero-added and pure natural as a good standard, but zero-added does not necessarily mean completely healthy, and products with food additives are not equivalent to inferior products."

　　In addition, according to the "Healthy China Action Plan (2019-2030)", the per capita daily salt (sodium) intake should not be higher than 5g (5g is equal to 5000mg).

Chang Cheng also suggested that "soy sauce contains sodium, with or without additives, excessive consumption is not a healthy diet."