On June 18th, the Economic Reference Daily published an investigation report stating that reporters sent several brands of baby diapers on the market for testing and found formamide in products such as "Curiosity", "Biba Baby", and "Babycare". The report also cited data from the Mass Spectrometry Laboratory of Shandong Provincial Public Health Clinical Center, stating that this substance was also found in hundreds of infant blood samples.

As soon as the news came out, the parent group exploded first. But what happened next was somewhat unexpected.

On June 19th, the Shandong Provincial Public Health Clinical Center issued an internal statement stating that the specially appointed experts have never mentioned the relationship between formamide and diapers, and the center has not conducted any research in this area. The Hygiene Products Professional Committee of the China Paper Society has also come forward, believing that there are obvious flaws in the testing basis and data disclosure aspects of the report. The brands that were named also reacted quickly, each throwing out third-party testing reports and saying they were "not detected".

Both sides speak their own words, and the public doesn't know who to trust.

On the evening of June 21st, investigative journalist Wang Wenzhi sent an open letter to the relevant regulatory authorities. There is a sentence in the letter that I think hit the nail on the head - he said that since the incident escalated, everyone's attention has been diverted, and no one has asked where the formamide in the child's body came from. Instead, they are debating whether the report has flaws and whether the reporter is trying to gain traffic. He directly called for the establishment of an investigation team to thoroughly investigate from beginning to end.

The next day, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Health Commission, and the National Bureau of Disease Control jointly established an investigation team and officially intervened.

02. At this point, it's no longer just a matter of diapers.

Let's talk about the "self certification" of those brands first. They all presented reports of 'not detected', but Wang Wenzhi poked through this layer of window paper in the open letter - these samples were selected, delivered, and fully controlled by the company itself, and whether they are the same as the products that consumers can easily get on the market shelves or not, I'm afraid there is a question mark. Biba Baby also admitted in the announcement that "the brand's unilateral self certification has limited persuasiveness". Speaking of which, why should the public trust you?

Looking at industry standards again. In the current national standard for diapers, there are no testing requirements or limit regulations for formamide. The brand claims to 'comply with national standards', but there is no flaw in the literal meaning. But formamide is listed as a Class 1B reproductive toxic substance in the European Union, and is also explicitly prohibited in the domestic cosmetics catalog. Not writing the national standard doesn't mean it should be there. A cruel reality is that many standard bottom lines are still some distance away from consumers' expectations.

What is even more uncomfortable is the crisis management approach. Wang Wenzhi mentioned in an open letter that some companies privately contacted parents who raised doubts, exchanging coupons or product benefits, with the condition that parents delete their comments on social media platforms. I wanted to use this small gesture to cover up the risk, but instead of covering it up, it made the situation worse and worse.

For business people, this can actually reveal a lot.

The accounts of the supply chain will be settled sooner or later. Formamide itself is not a raw material for diapers, and most of it is residual from production additives. The problem is that many brands outsource production layer by layer, and the quality control of each link may not be fully understood by the brands themselves. How many layers have you managed, and how many layers are out of control?

Without standards, it is precisely where one should be most vigilant. Some brands have already taken the initiative to refer to the EU REACH regulation for formamide testing. Where regulation has not yet arrived, take the lead and consumers can see it. Waiting for standards to come out before taking action often results in public opinion rather than standards.

Additionally, when a crisis arises, is it about solving the problem or addressing the person who raised the issue? The weight of this choice is much heavier than many managers think. The act of privately seeking parents to delete posts is essentially adding fuel to the fire in today's communication environment.

The investigation team has already entered the site, but the results have not been released yet.

But there is one judgment that can be made now. The supply chain, quality control standards, and crisis response methods of this industry may need to be re examined.

If your company were in a similar position, would it withstand such a round of scrutiny?

*The image is from the internet and has been hacked and deleted