Soap Nuts Pro

The China grown soap berries saga continues: (Part 2)

Addendum: As opposed to spending a lot of time rewriting “Part 1″, this addendum is better than another update. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve updated the original post. Following the antics of the seller(s) is like chasing some shape-shifting alien creatures from the “Men in Black” movies.

There seems to be no bounds to the levels of deception that the seller(s) of China-grown soap nuts will go. The following are the most current, relentless morphings that have been reported and verified.

• Now they are using manipulated and false representations of the China-grown berries being compared to “other” sellers. (Both the images and the points attempted to be made are highly misleading – and simply incorrect when compared to today’s successful companies of high quality soap berries.)

• They claim “dark red/brown” coloration as being representative of high saponin content. This is absolutely false. It is representative of age and storage conditions. (All seasoned, regular soap nut users know that fresh berries are yellow/golden when harvested, and then darken over time. Very dark colored berries are often from a previous year’s harvest. This is typical. Color is never constant – and has a no correlation to saponin content. Recently (12-2013), I’ve seen pictures used in marketing (the “ours vs. others” type images) that are totally misleading. Who knows what was actually photographed? In any large lot of soap berries there will be significant variations. See our post on “Variations”. Even the points made about them are flawed. They are playing to inexperienced buyers – trying to make their product look superior. For an experienced eye, ironically, the China soap berries look very old, and too wet for proper long-term storage (a problem that put one good US company out of business, of which I’ll get to shortly).

• Similarly, the wetness of the berries is a complete distortion of the the facts. The wetness indicates the presence of excess moisture (water) – not saponin content. The moisture even adds unwanted weight since selling by empirical weights. (That’s the one and only good thing I can think of that these Chinese sellers are doing). As many will recall such wetness lead to the ultimate closure of Maggie’s Pure Land Soap Nuts. An Indonesian supplier started supplying Maggie’s with old and inadequately sun-dried berries (looking eerily similar to the China berries being sold). Weird… Maggie’s berries were then sealed in air-tight plastic (the worst thing to do at that point), and in time became grotesque, sticky globs of mushy berries. Complaints and returns soared. The company closed their doors shortly thereafter. Note: Maggie’s imported their product from an Indonesian supplier who boxed them. It’s uncertain where they were harvested, but assumed to have been India or Nepal – certainly not China. Pulling from my library of images, presented here are images of those dark red, wet Maggie’s soap nuts taken shortly before they ceased operations. These dark red, overly wet, sticky berries are NOT “high in saponin” – they are high only in excess moisture and grotesqueness. FYI: There’s a rainy season in most of southern Asia. Importers want them out of there by summer at latest. They are not stored in climate-controlled warehouses – far from it. (The pictures speak volumes.) If the Chinese berries are not as nasty as these were, it’s only because they are bulk wrapped in kraft or newsprint grade papers. The plastic bags used by Maggie’s compounded their moisture problem by not allowing them to breathe (the final blow I assume). Notice the “dark red” juice in the bag and all over the silica (desiccant) packs.

• After recent (11-2013) USDA National Organic Program enforcement agents finding the Chinese seller in violation of USDA standards, they then retracted/removed all fraudulent statements of their claimed USDA Organic Certification. They now state that they are certified by Chinese agencies. Google up “China organic fraud” for an eye-opening look at rampant fraudulent activities occurring in China today. It’s another scam of its own. There is NO US certifying agency whatsoever, such as QAI or Oregon Tilth, inspecting the processing and operations of berries from China within the US or Canada (the required procedure to obtain USDA organic certification). The seller(s) actually admit not meeting USDA certification standards.

• China seller(s) claim “mukorossi” to be meaningful of only a soap berry of Chinese origin. This is not only false, it’s a downright stupid claim to make. Mukorossi (and other species) are indigenous to the Himalayan mountain regions extending from southern China, western Nepal and northern India. The Chinese “soapberry” is simply a very common name for essentially all species growing throughout Asia. The term is so loosely used it really doesn’t specify ANY species at all. It has far more historical associations to the Hindi names of Ritha, Reetha, Aritha used for soap nut powder used in ancient Indian Ayurveda medicines and treatments. The misuse of mukorossi is everywhere. Probably a third of eBay sellers are selling trifoliatus, saponaria, or some other species and don’t even know the difference. Mountain Rose Herbs simply lumps all species together in their “more information” – as if they are all the same. The ones I got originally from them were trifoliatus with seeds. The next year I got mukorossi with seeds. But the information or labels didn’t change. ??? – And they are a good company! They must just sell so many thousands of products that they don’t even bother with the details. They just buy and sell the cheapest soap nuts they can get. That’s all that makes any sense to me anyway. As far as Greenwill, it’s another intentional attempt to BS consumers.

• In an attempt to confuse consumers even further, recently Chinese seller(s) are packaging in oddball sizes such as 1.5lbs, 3.5lbs, etc. Any and all measures possible to throw consumers off balance seem to be tried. And they continually change. It should be noted that new UPC codes (bar codes) are not issued for their new sizes. GS1 (who assigns UPC codes and somewhat controls proper issuance) permits a maximum of a 20% differential in a product ‘s weight or dimensions without need to generate a new UPC code. The rationale behind the “universal” bar code system is proper seller and consumer identification of any given product via ONE number. The China seller(s) apparently have no regard for the Universal Product Code (UPC) standards and simply change product specifications at will as desired. In other words, they do exactly what the standards are established to prevent – CONFUSE! Why? Well, one reason is that whenever a new UPC is generated, all history is lost with most sites. Hence, if you have some history or positive reviews, they’d be gone – and you’d be starting over again. This is easy to manipulate on many e-commerce sites – even the big ones like Amazon. You can simply plug in incorrect values on the back end. (The consumer doesn’t see that.) These “universal” codes are not thoroughly monitored for accuracy (as we all know about by receiving and returning incorrect products). Intentional inaccuracies lead to perplexed and bewildered consumers in the marketplace (apparently the intent). There’s little need for any strict monitoring of UPC codes because MOST companies work very hard to ensure UPC correctness for it’s in everyone’s best interest – both buyers and sellers. Good companies don’t want unhappy customers and returns. Only a company or party with ulterior motives would have reason to intentionally manipulate them. Have I lost you? No worries.  It all adds up to the following:

THE BOTTOM LINE: Be wary of ANY – and ALL – soap nuts from China.

The seller(s) of China grown berries in the USA began disclosing the TRUTH of their Chinese origin only due to our reporting on their practices early in 2013, the USDA’s investigation and the ultimate crackdown. Since day one, the seller(s) have changed company names, product names, features, origins, descriptions, pictures, sizes, prices, etc. so often that we can’t even keep track of it all anymore.

Some appropriate words of wisdom:
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”
– Sir Walter Scott

Please visit Part 1. Some parts are now “outdated” (better yet, “no longer applicable”) but there’s important issues discussed – particularly regarding the USDA crackdown for violations and potential hazards from the chemical and/or biological contamination brought upon USA and Canadian soils (and into some homes) from the agricultural toxic wasteland that China represents today. You will also gain valuable insight into the progressive nature of the ongoing games being played. The incredible arrogance and greed displayed in the letter from Mr. Rong of the China soapberry company to SoapNuts.Pro is also a “must read”. It’s published in “Part 1″ verbatim.

Consumers must be diligent. We can state that we have never seen any seller(s) – ever – so consistently change their story and tactics. Our advise: If you see the word China, move along. No price is worth the risk of handling and using contaminated and potentially hazardous product (be it of biological or chemical in nature).

Given the consistent – and persistent – track record of blatantly false claims, 180-degree turns, description changes, self-contradictions, and never-ending disingenuous attempts to peddle the cheap Chinese berries: no word, no feature, no picture – NOTHING – can be believed or trusted from these seller(s).

As we were told however, “We are here, and we will stay.” As expressed by Chinese sellerl in the owner’s letter, he intends to “conquer” our markets. Put more succinctly, I liken his statement to outright defrauding and excessive profiteering within our markets – all via taking advantage of uninformed Western consumers. Ultimately, the Western market for soap berries shoulders an unfair risk of being tarnished. If there are incidents of contamination resulting in illnesses (like with the recent Chinese imported tainted doggie treats), all soap nuts – not only the culprit China imports – will end up in question. All will be happening while the seller(s) of China-grown berries will simply close up their shops (apartments), and go home with a boatload of US cash.

This will cause unfair, unwarranted and undue harm all the honest, reputable sellers of an amazing and wonderful natural product that can be positively life and generation altering for millions of users. The greatest harm will be to all those folks that are out there trying to spread the word, and run good, clean, healthy, eco conscious businesses – the right way.

If you care about what’s right and what’s wrong – you know what needs to be done.