Fears about Chinese soy sauce were sparked by a report on Chinese TV that noted local makers were using human hair to create their condiments. Japanese soy sauce makers used to use human hair, too.
“During the Pacific War (World War II), food shortages meant that the soy beans used to make sauce instead became a foodstuff and hair was gathered from barbers and used to make ersatz soy sauce,” Satoshi Noguchi, the boss of Noguchi Rihatsu barbershop in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, tells Asahi Geino.
