I always buy Pearl River Bridge Soy Sauce, because that’s the brand my parents buy. Thinking I would save a few pennies, I reached for the large plastic jug version at Uwajimaya, which sat right underneath the Pearl River Bridge glass bottles. I hesitated, however, when I noticed that the jug labels did not actually say “Pearl River Bridge” although they were of very similar design and coloring. I wasn’t surprised to find brand identity issues with products imported from China, but Google turned up a scary side note to this problem. In 2000 the U.K.’s Food Standard’s Agency found certain soy sauce brands contained unacceptable levels of a suspected carcinogen, 3-MCPD. Pearl River Bridge was one of the brands. The manufacturer refuted the claims, stating that counterfeit versions of their product had been used. The FSA released an update in 2001 stating that the products now were within acceptable limits. A study in 2002 showed even better results. The news also spawned a misleading email that was circulated. Pearl River Bridge has taken steps to protect their brand and reputation by implementing strict labeling policies. Since the new label description seems specific to their U.K. importer, I’m uncertain about how to correctly identify the product in the U.S., but I will continue to be on the lookout for obvious imitations. And I’m certain we’ll never know if the FSA actually tested counterfeit product or if Pearl River Bridge adjusted their formula.