Another cosmetics giant responded, can Japanese cosmetics still be used? After SK-II, Fallen in Nuclear Radiation Controversy Equipment | China | Cosmetics

According to Kyodo News Agency, Tokyo Electric Power Company began trial operation of the contaminated water discharge equipment at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on June 12th, which is expected to last for about two weeks.

Many consumers have begun to question products from Japanese origin. The Weibo topic of "Japan suddenly claims that nuclear wastewater poses a threat to health" has received over 300 million views, and the topic of "Can Shenxian Aquatic Land still be used due to suspected nuclear pollution" has also sparked heated discussions. Related brands have also had to issue debunking statements, but it remains to be seen whether consumers will pay for it.

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Public data shows that in 2022, Japan is the second largest importer of cosmetics to China, with brands such as SK-II, Infusa, Doctor Chengye, and Kerun selling well in China for a long time.

Can Japanese cosmetics still be used?

After SK-II, another cosmetics giant responded

On the 14th, the topic of "SK-II Immortal Water Production Site Suspected of Nuclear Pollution" surged on the hot search.

It is reported that a large amount of sawdust containing radioactive cesium has been piled up on the shore of the confluence of Yakawa and Lake Biwa in Japan. According to SK-II's official WeChat official account, the Immortal Water Factory is located on the bank of Biwa Lake, Japan's largest lake, and is the only source of water quality for the brand. There is no other production channel in the world.

Regarding the matter involving nuclear pollution, Procter&Gamble first responded that the nuclear radiation mentioned in the report actually originated from the illegal dumping incident on the confluence of Yachuan and Biwa Lake in 2014, and the local area was not affected by nuclear radiation. Procter&Gamble stated that all SK-II products are produced strictly in accordance with internal and external quality standards, and comply with market regulatory requirements. In order to ensure the safety of SK-II products, SK-II products imported into China have actively undergone targeted radiation related testing.

But this statement failed to dispel public concerns and also had a ripple effect on other Japanese made skincare and makeup products. According to a summary list by netizens, brands such as Infusa IPSA, Chengye Doctor, and Kerun are "not recommended for reuse".

"There are so many cosmetics suffering from nuclear radiation. I'm still scared to use a skin care product. I suggest not to use it, or I will be shocked if I use it." "618 bought Kerun face cream, which originated in Japan, and I don't want to use it at the risk of my life." "I must continue to use it. Nuclear radiation emissions began in June this year. After June, I don't want to buy cosmetics made in Japan." said one netizen.

Regarding this incident, many netizens also consulted with the customer service of Japanese cosmetics brands. Most of the customer service representatives responded that the product production strictly complies with Japanese cosmetics regulations and undergoes strict customs quarantine procedures during import, allowing consumers to use it normally.

On the 15th, Shiseido officials responded to China News Service that Shiseido has always been committed to providing consumers with safe and high-quality products, and every aspect of the production process is strictly regulated. "The products we sell in China comply with relevant national standards, and consumers can purchase and use them with confidence," said the person in charge.

Can Japanese cosmetics still be used? How much impact does nuclear wastewater have?

It is worth noting that Japanese cosmetics have a significant influence in China. Starting from 2019, Japan became the first importer of cosmetics to China, until it was replaced by France in 2022.

According to Chinese customs data, from January to November 2022, the top 5 importing countries in China's cosmetics industry were France, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Among them, the import amount from France reached 4.197 billion US dollars, accounting for 24.98% of the total import amount; Next is Japan, with an import amount of 4.162 billion US dollars, accounting for 24.77% of the total import amount.

From the perspective of common Japanese brands, they mainly include SK-II, Shiseido, Aoerbin, Xuejijing, POLA, CPB, Infusa, Daike, Chengye Doctor, Fangke, DHC, Sophina, etc.

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Among them, FANCL is the largest "additive free" skincare and health food brand in Japan, and is currently a listed company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Main Board.

So, will nuclear wastewater discharge have an impact on these Japanese cosmetics? Can it still be used normally?

The expert group of the International Atomic Energy Agency has issued an assessment report that clearly states that the treated tritium containing wastewater at the Fukushima nuclear power plant still contains other radioactive nuclides. According to Tokyo Electric Power Company's statistics, nuclear wastewater contains a total of 62 radioactive nuclides. In August 2018, environmentalists analyzed data released by Tokyo Electric Power Company and found that the treated nuclear wastewater far exceeded residual tritium.

Industry insiders have told the media that the first step is to classify cosmetics based on whether they use marine materials. The discharge of nuclear wastewater may have an impact on raw materials from marine sources, such as seaweed and fish collagen. "In addition to cosmetics raw materials directly from the ocean, it also includes situations where some radioactive elements may be enriched by marine organisms and brought into cosmetics raw materials."

The so-called enrichment refers to the "biological enrichment process", in which organisms continuously absorb low concentrations of pollutants from the environment, then accumulate in the body, and finally accumulate to a relatively high concentration. When upper level organisms in the food chain continuously consume these contaminated lower level organisms, pollutants accumulate to higher concentrations, leading to poisoning levels.

"If it is really radioactive and pollutes water sources or marine organisms, and these cosmetics or skincare products are added to these marine organisms or water sources, it may cause nucleic acid or cell mutations. The most concerning thing is that if our own nucleic acid mutations accumulate in large amounts, it may cause skin cancer," said Chen Junyan, director of the dermatology department at Hong Kong Yanghe Hospital, in a media interview

Meanwhile, nuclear wastewater discharge may not only affect the local area of Japan.

The German Institute of Marine Sciences has pointed out that the Fukushima coast has the world's strongest ocean currents. Within 57 days from the date of discharge, radioactive materials will spread to most of the Pacific Ocean, and in 10 years, they will spread to global waters.

Public information shows that marine bioactive extracts from seaweed and deep-sea fish have been developed into various functional cosmetics and are widely available in Japan and Europe and America. Incomplete search by China News Service found that many cosmetic brands have expressed their intention to develop cosmetics and skincare products using marine plant extracts.

LaMer Blue Mystery stated on its official website that the brand ferments and extracts the soul ingredient and repair secret of the Blue Mystery brand from deep-sea giant algae and other pure ingredients - Miracle Broth, a magical and active essence ™。

SEA ESSENCE is a Japanese local cosmetics and skin care brand. It said on the official official account that SEA ESSENCE Marine essence Cream strictly selects marine essence ingredients, and the natural ingredients contain more than 90%.

One of the important product lines of La Prairie, a noble skin care brand, is the caviar essence series SKIN CAVIAR. He wrote on his official website that La Prairie boldly extracted the essence of caviar from the rich waters to inject life into the skin.

On the 15th, A-share listed company Perlier stated in response to investor questions that the company currently uses a very small amount of marine raw materials from Japan in its products. The company's products and raw materials have undergone strict evaluation and safety testing, and meet relevant national standards. The company has recently launched nuclear radiation testing for marine and Japanese raw materials, and the discharge of Japanese nuclear wastewater has little impact on the company.

Zhang Xusheng, a toxicologist at the Chinese Society of Toxicology, believes that the most critical issue at present is that Japan's decision to discharge nuclear wastewater is inevitable, and the opaque analysis results of treated nuclear wastewater have caused concerns about the safety of related products. So whether the nuclear wastewater treatment system has reached the theoretical safety limit is unknown externally, so there is doubt about it.

But he said that the public does not need to be particularly concerned about using Japanese cosmetics. The prerequisite for the formation of nuclear contamination enrichment in marine organisms due to radioactive nuclide contamination is the presence of long-term high-dose radiation effects. If nuclear wastewater is treated properly and does not contain radioactive uranium, strontium, and cesium elements, it can be considered that the possibility of long-term high-dose radiation pollution to the environment from nuclear wastewater discharge is very low.

"If companies have plans to strengthen radiation intensity testing for related raw materials, it can be avoided. The specific degree of nuclear pollution enrichment needs to be analyzed through monitoring data, which is related to the concentration of radioactive particles in nuclear wastewater." Zhang Xusheng said to China News Service.

The US Food and Drug Administration evaluates that wastewater treated with technology will not have an impact on human and animal health when discharged into the ocean; Moreover, the FDA does not recommend consumers to change their consumption habits and can still choose specific foods imported from Japan or domestically produced foods including seafood. However, it is worth noting that the FDA's evaluation is based on the assumption that the advanced liquid treatment system established in Japan can remove harmful radioactive nuclides and only tritium remains in the wastewater.

Currently, China still prohibits food from entering Fukushima Prefecture and other places in Japan

On March 11, 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake occurred in the northeastern waters of Japan, triggering a massive tsunami. Affected by the earthquake and tsunami, a large amount of radioactive material leaked from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. On April 13, 2021, the Japanese government officially decided to filter and dilute Fukushima nuclear wastewater before discharging it into the sea. However, during the nuclear wastewater treatment process, it encountered problems such as filter damage and excessive activity of radioactive substance strontium 90 after treatment.

Zhang Xusheng introduced to China News Service that China's entry management of imported food from Japan, including Fukushima Prefecture, which may be affected by nuclear pollution, is based on normative documents issued by the former General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, such as the Announcement on Prohibiting the Import of Some Japanese Food and Agricultural Products and the Announcement on Further Strengthening the Inspection and Quarantine Supervision of Imported Food and Agricultural Products from Japan, which have not yet expired. "China still prohibits food from 10 prefectures including Fukushima Prefecture in Japan from entering the Chinese market. Compared to the dynamic changes in FDA's import warnings 99-33 over the years, China's ban on imports from these regions involves a wider range of food categories." Zhang Xusheng said.

For cosmetics, public information shows that the Japanese government has not implemented any policies or standards to force cosmetic factories to undergo radiation testing.

After the earthquake, the Japan Cosmetics Industry Federation issued a statement stating that "the radioactive substances released into the atmosphere from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident will not have an impact on the health of consumers with cosmetics." Some Japanese cosmetics companies have also increased their product radioactive concentration testing programs.

For China, both the Customs Law of the People's Republic of China and the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Radioactive Pollution stipulate that customs shall carry out nuclear radiation monitoring on various types of customs supervision objects in accordance with the law to prevent illegal entry and exit of radioactive substances.