SHENZHEN’S market and quality supervision authority is investigating several cross-border e-commerce companies for selling food products allegedly produced in radiation-hit areas of Japan, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported Thursday.

    According to the authority, these companies directly mailed the products from overseas or bonded warehouses to customers in China, or hired people to bring the products across the border by pretending to be passengers buying products for their own use to avoid inspection and quarantine.

    The bureau raided Shenzhen Dolphin Cross-border Technology Co. Ltd., operator of a cross-border e-commerce website, Feb. 21.

    The website’s background data showed that it had sold over 200,000 packets of Calbee oatmeal to customers in China with sales amounting to 11 million yuan (US$1.6 million), even though the oatmeal was sourced from a Japanese county banned by China from exporting food products to the country due to concerns about radioactive contamination.

    The company still has 19,000 packets of Calbee oatmeal in its Tianjin warehouses, 11,000 packets in Hong Kong warehouses and over 300 packets in Hangzhou warehouses.

    According to the authority, it has launched an investigation into several other e-commerce companies in Shenzhen for selling food products from areas affected by the nuclear leak in Fukushima.

    In another development, China’s annual consumer rights day TV show Wednesday turned its spotlight on U.S. sports brand Nike Inc. for its misleading advertising and Japanese brand Muji for selling food products allegedly sourced from a part of Japan that had been affected by radiation.

    The China Central Television (CCTV) show, which is known as “315” in reference to global consumer rights day, March 15, and similar to CBS network’s “60 Minutes” in the United States, said that Nike had misled consumers about high-tech air cushions in some of its “Hyperdunk” basketball shoes.

    The two-hour show also highlighted Japanese brands such as Muji, owned by Ryohin Keikaku Co., which it said had sold food products in China that originated in an area of Tokyo where high levels of radiation were detected in 2015.

    Muji claimed in a statement Thursday that CCTV misunderstood the registration place of its imported foods sold in China.

    Nike said in a statement that it had sold 300 pairs of Hyperdunk shoes in China last year with “an inaccurate product description stating that the shoe contained airbags.” The firm added that it had apologized to consumers and offered compensation.

    “We will fully cooperate with the government regulators regarding their inquiries,” the company said.

    The 315 show can hurt a firm’s reputation if singled out for bad corporate behavior. Apple was forced into a rare apology in 2013 after the show criticized its after-sales service in China.

    (Zhang Yang)