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Japan's nuclear crisis was followed by a salt buying panic in China. News spread quickly on China's Internet and in mobile chatrooms that supplies could be contaminated by radiation, instigating worried shoppers to clear the product from the country's shop shelves.

Last week, a rumor began that Japan's nuclear leak would contaminate the sea off east China's Shandong Province. It advised people to stock up on salt, and not to eat seafood for a year.

The rumor was spread quickly online from Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province, by someone surnamed Chen who worked at an IT company. Word went round online, by phone and SMS.

People in coastal areas such as Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Shanghai, then rushed out to buy up supplies, pushing up the price tenfold, before the panic spread inland.

The panic buying also rippled onto the stock market, pushing up the share price of salt producers.

Experts say there are many factors behind the panic.

First, the Internet and telecoms offer rapid way of spreading rumors. By the end of last year, China had 457 million netizens, almost 800 million cell phone users and 303 million mobile netizens.

Second, faced with mixed and conflicting messages, many people's judgment becomes clouded, and they may ignore official advice. For instance, many people panic-bought certain medicines and Iodine salt during the SARS epidemic, and garlic during the H1N1 flu scare.

Others suggest the salt industry itself plays up on people's fears to sell more of the product and boost their share price. The five companies whose share price rose the most were in Zhejiang and Jiangsu Provinces, where the panic buying began. Although there is no enough evidence of them controlling the stock market, the share price rise is seen as connected to the panic buying, and an investigation is continuing.

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