But hoarding salt is not necessary, boycotting Japan's nuclear wastewater discharge into the sea

Once there is too much salt hoarding, the ultimate outcome will definitely be waste.

Fuzhou Release issued a reminder that there is sufficient supply of edible salt, and citizens should purchase it rationally according to their needs. Image/"Fuzhou Release" Official Weibo

Wen | Jiangcheng

Affected by the discharge of contaminated water from Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean, South Korea's salt prices have skyrocketed, and people are hoarding salt across the country. In some coastal areas of our country, there has also been a surge of salt hoarding.

According to a report by Beike Finance, "Fuzhou Release" announced on August 24th that some citizens in Fuzhou are rushing to purchase edible salt due to the news of "the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the sea". Currently, some stores in Yonghui are experiencing a rush to purchase edible salt, and Pupu and Yonghui's daily salt are out of stock. In this regard, the Fuzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce reminds that it will continue to make every effort to ensure supply and stable prices, ensure sufficient supply of edible salt, and encourage citizens to purchase rationally according to their needs, without believing or spreading rumors. Outside of Fuzhou, similar phenomena have also occurred in places such as Yangzhou.

Japan's discharge of nuclear wastewater does indeed have an impact on the marine environment. But almost immediately, some experts have publicly stated that it is unnecessary to grab salt.

According to Wang Xiaoqing, Executive Chairman of the China Salt Industry Association, China produces edible salt using raw materials such as sea salt, well salt, and lake salt, with their respective proportions of 22%, 61%, and 17%. It can be seen that most of the edible salt in the Chinese market is domestically produced and has nothing to do with the ocean, and of course, it cannot be said to be affected by nuclear wastewater.

Of course, in some coastal provinces, the market share of sea salt will be higher. For example, in Guangdong, sea salt accounts for over one-third of the salt market share, but this does not mean hoarding salt. At present, the government reserves and corporate social responsibility reserves of salt at the provincial and municipal levels in Guangdong Province amount to 108000 tons, covering 100% of the administrative regions of all cities and counties in the province. It can respond quickly and timely, and there is no need for people to panic.

In fact, the harm of hoarding salt is obvious. Firstly, it is resource waste. Edible salt generally has a shelf life of only three years, but the daily healthy intake of the human body is also limited; Moreover, due to strict sales regulations, individuals are not allowed to resell edible salt. This means that once there is too much salt hoarding, the ultimate outcome will definitely be waste.

In addition, panic buying will inevitably lead to price increases and social panic. Salt is the basic material that affects thousands of households, and the so-called "firewood, rice, oil, and salt" also indicates its irreplaceable position in daily life. Once the cost of obtaining salt increases sharply, even if it cannot be purchased, the resulting impact on people's livelihoods may be enormous.

Japan's irresponsible discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea should certainly be condemned, but at this time, people should also master basic scientific knowledge and avoid blindly following the trend. Just like media interviews have found that many people are not clear about the causes and consequences, but only see news of hoarding salt in the group, so they "follow the trend and buy some".

In addition, we should also be wary of some people attempting to disrupt the market, hype up profits, or launch various "radiation protection products" to reap the benefits.

This is not without a lesson from the past. In 2011, a leakage accident occurred at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. At that time, a citizen in Wuhan spent a high price to buy 13000 kilograms of salt, which was jokingly called the "salt grabbing emperor" by netizens. At that time, some people questioned whether he was using the opportunity to hoard and act strangely.

At that time, a series of anti radiation products appeared on the market, such as anti radiation clothing, anti radiation stickers, and anti radiation headphones, which were very lively for a while. But it turned out afterwards that most of these products were fake science, just temporary fabricated and fake products that took advantage of the hot topic dividends.

At present, people should still remain rational and calm. As a special type of food, the country has a strict and complete standard system for testing the quality of table salt. Currently, the country has also conducted strict monitoring of the sea salt production areas to ensure the safety of table salt.

At the same time, various response measures are being quickly followed up on Japan's actions to discharge pollutants from the sea. For example, the General Administration of Customs has announced at noon today that imports of Japanese seafood will be completely suspended, all of which are necessary measures to ensure food safety for the public.

For example, the relevant person in charge of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce also told the New Beijing News reporter that Beijing has sufficient salt reserves, market supply is guaranteed, and citizens do not need to hoard salt. Officials like this can also clarify rumors and stabilize public opinion by speaking up in a timely manner, which can certainly alleviate people's anxiety to a certain extent.

People should have full trust in this and believe that relevant departments can effectively respond to the nuclear wastewater discharge incident, protecting people's "safety on the tip of their tongue". As for irrational salt grabbing and hoarding, it is not necessary and should be stopped in a timely manner.