Nowadays, e-commerce platforms are becoming more and more developed. You can buy all kinds of things you want without leaving home. In addition to various daily necessities, catering and delicacies, you can now even send flowers. The goods have arrived, but recently there has been a problem with the flowers delivered by a flower e-commerce platform. Because their flowers were not pre-treated, some poisonous flowers "milkweed" appeared. So milkweed is really poisonous? ?
1. Poisonous flowers are hidden when buying flowers online
A few days ago, many netizens reported that after receiving pre-ordered flowers from the flower e-commerce platform Huajia on August 5, I also received a text message prompting me to "destroy this flower material."
It turned out that the sent bouquets were mixed with a toxic and unprepared flower material - milkweed. Netizens said that they only knew that the flowers they received contained milkweed after receiving the recall notice from Huajia. If they did not see the information in time, these problematic flowers may cause harm to children and animals around them. Bad effect.
According to relevant information, milkweed is also known as lotus osmanthus flower, fragrant grass flower, and water horn. It is shrub-like and reaches a height of 60 cm to 120 cm. The whole plant contains white body fluid, with colorful flowers and high ornamental value. It is suitable for garden beautification or potted plants. However, the whole plant is toxic, especially the latex, which is highly toxic and can be used for medicinal purposes.
It is understood that after the incident, Huajiayi*** sent two text messages, one of which stated that the mixed bouquet received by the user contained the flower material milkweed. When handling the branches and leaves, There will be white milk flowing out. Please wash it immediately after handling and do not come into contact with the skin. Another expressed apology, "Begging for forgiveness."
In the early morning of August 7, Huajia publicly responded to the matter on its official Weibo. A statement signed by Huajia CEO Wang Ke - "A Good Career Starts with Responsibility" explains the entire incident. It is said that in the early morning of August 5, when the Huajia quality inspection team verified the flower processing process confirmation form, they found that 200 milkweeds had not been completely pre-processed and were mixed with processed milkweed and sent to users. Since it was impossible to trace which users had received the poisonous milkweed, Huajia decided to recall all 4,000 orders containing milkweed from Beijing, Shanghai and other places.
Huajia’s public relations department told reporters that during this “poisonous flower” incident, most customers reported no physical abnormalities, and only three customers had allergic reactions. "The staff has communicated with the three users as soon as possible and accompanied them to the doctor. They all suffered from slight discomfort on the skin of their fingers. No other discomfort occurred. The symptoms have been relieved. We have not received reports of discomfort from users yet." Huajia the staff said.
In addition, Huajia said that the matching design of these flowers is uniformly carried out by the Shanghai headquarters. The scope of this recall is mainly Beijing and Shanghai. The recall started on the day of delivery and was completed by the morning of the 6th.
In the past, the word "recall" was more commonly heard in the automobile and food industries, but this time it appeared in the "poisonous flower" crisis.
According to Huajia, they have handled the matter in the shortest possible time. According to its official Weibo, at 8:10 on August 5, Huajia established an emergency team to determine the recall of flowers and a compensation plan; at 8:30, the customer service department contacted customers via emergency phone and text messages to remind customers to avoid contact with flower materials. At 8:50, the logistics department intercepted the undelivered bouquets and picked up the delivered bouquets; at 9:10, the customer service department notified the customer of the compensation plan and would send flowers and vases free of charge; at 10:30 90% of the bouquets have been recalled.
However, some netizens did not buy it. One netizen said that on the 5th, he received a text message from Huajia after receiving the bouquet, "and it did not explain that it was poisonous." The netizen also said that the time when he received the customer service call notification or SMS notification was around 12:40, and the time when he received the call from the courier guy "coming to pick up the flowers at home" was around 15:45 on the 5th.
In response to these doubts, Huajia said that except for individual users who said they had thrown away the products themselves, most of the product recalls were completed within 2 hours. In the past two days, users have reported that they have received milkweed and that it has not been recalled. After communication, it was found that the vast majority of customers who reported that it had not been recalled misunderstood other flower materials as milkweed.
Some netizens said that after discovering the problem, Huajia carried out a large-scale recall without being able to clearly deliver it to users. This responsible attitude deserves recognition. However, some netizens also complained about the SMS notification method. Netizen "Ziwen Vicky" said: "Just handling it through text messages is child's play. What if the consumer doesn't see it? What if the child eats it by mistake?" Some netizens said: "There are children at home, and every time the flowers arrive, they will be with them. Cutting flowers and arranging flowers, it just so happened that the child and his father went for a walk downstairs this time. It makes me scared to think about it. "
With the development of the Internet and the improvement of living standards, many items can be purchased through e-commerce platforms, and the products are often purchased. Being able to enter consumers' homes directly from factories and warehouses is fast and convenient, but it also increases safety risks.
This incident was due to the Huajia platform’s carelessness in the pre-processing of flowers, which resulted in 200 incompletely processed milkweeds being mixed into the flowers.
In this regard, Mr. Zhang, a flower shop owner in Shanghai, said that Huajia had neglected flower pre-processing and inadequate recall methods. "But to recall 4,000 bouquets for 200 milkweed plants, we have to bear a considerable economic loss. In this way, It seems that Huajia is indeed responsible.”
However, although Huajia notified and dealt with it in a relatively timely manner, three users in Beijing still experienced discomfort. Some netizens’ opinions on the recall methods have also put forward further requirements for the self-management of e-commerce platforms.
Some experts said that online shopping is convenient, and more and more food, flowers, and daily necessities are entering thousands of households through online shopping platforms. Therefore, e-commerce platforms must be stricter about product quality. "E-commerce platforms need to be more careful in the inspection and delivery of related products. A little carelessness may cause users to accidentally eat or injure themselves. This will not only cause damage to users, but also to the economic interests and brand image of the merchants themselves. Cause damage." said Fan Bo, a professor at the Department of Public Affairs and Management of Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
2. Is milkweed really poisonous?
Milkweed is a common flower material at home and abroad. Because of its high ornamental value, it is also used in the entire flower industry. It can be seen everywhere in flower markets and flower shops, and is also commonly used by other flower e-commerce companies.
When these flowers are in their native state, improper contact may cause allergies and other symptoms. As fresh cut flowers, their pre-treatment requirements are very high. In the order placed on August 5, the mixed flower formula chosen by 4,000 users contained milkweed. Since we could not immediately trace the 200 milkweed branches that had not been completely processed, we decided to recall all milkweed-containing flowers in the shortest possible time. of orders.
Milkweed is native to South America and has been cultivated in China for 160 years. The corolla is golden, the blooms are light, bright and colorful. The flowers are small and exquisite, like a group of dancing elves. The beautiful flowers often attract bees and butterflies, so the English name is Butteflyweed. Milkweed is strong in nature, has colorful flowers, and has high ornamental value. It is suitable for garden beautification or potted plants. The whole plant is poisonous, especially the latex, which is highly toxic and can be used for medicinal purposes. The whole plant and roots are used as medicine and have anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, clearing away heat and detoxification, promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis.
Is milkweed a poisonous bouquet? The reporter interviewed Qingshan, a botanist and popular science writer at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, on this issue.
Qingshan introduction: Milkweed is a common flower material at home and abroad. It is mainly used for garden planting, flower bed planting, cut flowers and potted plants. It has high ornamental value and is often used in the entire flower industry. It can be seen everywhere in flower markets and flower shops. It is not a so-called "poisonous flower". Not only in the fresh cut flower market, but also in home gardening and garden landscapes, it is cultivated in Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and other provinces in my country. Only some people may have allergic reactions when exposed to the juice. As long as they do not eat it, there is no risk of poisoning. We hope that the excessive exaggeration in the media will not harm farmers who make a living by growing milkweed.
In fact, in addition to its ornamental effect, milkweed is also a traditional Chinese medicine. The whole milkweed plant is dried and used as medicine. The main chemical component is milkweed glycoside; it has the effects of clearing away heat, regulating menstruation and relieving pain, reducing inflammation and reducing swelling. Therefore, research on milkweed also focuses on its propagation and cultivation and medicinal properties and pharmacology.
During the interview, the reporter learned that there is no problem using milkweed as a fresh-cut flower material. When bottling milkweed, you only need to wear gloves to prevent it from touching the milk, and change and pour water promptly to avoid allergy risks. If you are really worried, you only need to remove all the branches and leaves of the milkweed, dehydrate the roots and heat and air-dry the leaves and stems, and the liquid will not flow out.
"Flower friends, please don't talk about 'toxic' discoloration, just handle it properly and use it with caution. Milkweed, a daily flower, can be purchased with confidence to add a touch of color to life!" Qingshan said.