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发表于 2011-11-18 16:30:08
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英文版今天也出来了,贴上贴上:
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VOX POPULI: 'Cha no Shizuku' soap shatters public trust
The Japanese word "sekken," for soap, makes me feel I can trust the product to fight the toughest dirt and grime. But when a cake of soap is referred to as "shabon," which comes from the West, the word causes the product to lose its punch, at least in my mind. I have the same reaction to the English word "soap," which is often included in the brand names of liquid soap.
Japan is known as a nation of fastidious bathers and women with beautiful skin. In this country, I believe any soap that is used for cleansing one's body should go by the good old Japanese word. And it's an effective marketing gimmick to give the product a brand name that suggests it is made of natural ingredients. A classic example is "Gyunyu Sekken," (Cow's milk soap), which has been around since the Showa Era (1926-1989).
"Cha no Shizuku Sekken" (Tea dew soap) isn't a bad name for a facial soap. Since its market debut seven years ago, a whopping 50 million cakes have been sold by mail order. But the product contained wheat until last year, and many users complained of allergic reactions, such as facial swelling and itchy eyes. Some even experienced serious difficulties in breathing.
The sales company has since recalled the product, but users, many of them women, had already used theirs up. These women must feel badly cheated. Each 60-gram cake cost about 2,000 yen ($26.70), and was commercially endorsed by an actress who encouraged users "not to give up (if they want beautiful skin)."
Among known allergens, wheat is found in an especially extensive array of food items that include breads, cakes, pasta, tempura and curries, which considerably limits what wheat allergy sufferers can safely eat. Developing this allergy as an adult is quite troublesome, as adults are much more inclined than children to eat out. Women who used this soap to improve their skin and had a bad reaction will now likely spend the rest of their lives in fear of what they eat.
The human body is more complex than any precision machinery, and reacts to external stimuli in unexpected ways. This makes it imperative that any risk factor be made known immediately to all people.
In the case of this facial soap, hospitals reported the problems to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the Consumer Affairs Agency and the sales company, but all were slow to react. The last thing I want to hear from them is that the outcome was "unexpected," and that there was nothing intentional about their failure to warn consumers.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Nov. 18
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