Nongfu Spring hits back on a Consumer Council report over misreporting

Nongfu Springs sent out a lawyer's letter on Tuesday demanding the Consumer Council to immediately clarify its "Taste, Mineral and Safety Test on 30 Bottled Water Products" report released on Monday, as well as to make a serious apology to the company and its consumers.

The consumer watchdog later clarified that the report stated that all test samples showed no harmful substances were found to exceed the relevant WHO guidelines, and they can be consumed with confidence.

This came after the Consumer Council announced yesterday (Jul 15) that they had tested 30 water samples, reporting that Nongfu's water had reached the maximum limit of bromate, a byproduct of water disinfection that could lead to side effects when overconsumed, as raised in the EU regulations.

The water company sent out a letter today and pointed out three issues in the consumer watchdog report - errors in the application of standards, errors in judgment of standards, and obvious subjective misleading.

The letter also stated that after the release of the report, it caused panic among consumers in Hong Kong and the mainland, resulting in huge losses to Nongfu Spring.

The company argued that even if the EU regional standard should be adopted for its drinking natural water products, the EU safety standard for "drinking water" should be applied instead of the standard for "natural mineral water".

According to the EU safety standards for drinking water, the safe level of bromate should not be more than 10 micrograms per liter, while Nongfu Spring's natural water products reached 3 micrograms per liter.

The water company also commented that as a product manufactured and sold in the mainland and Hong Kong markets, the regulations of the respective regions must take precedence over the applicable standards, and forcibly applying a third-party EU standard to products sold in Mainland China and Hong Kong is inappropriate.

It stated that the watchdog disregarded the differences in productions and drew a conclusion that was extremely unscientific and unscrupulous.

Nongfu Spring also criticized the Consumer Council for using the words "upper limit" or "lower limit," claiming that their use is a clear and deliberate mistake and is intentionally misleading, and instead believed that "pass" or "fail" should be used.

The consumer watchdog later responded to the media inquiry and stated that they have received the letter and will thoroughly follow up on it.

It also clarified that all tested water samples could be consumed without issue, pointing out that the report's key point was to compare the cost-effectiveness of various samples and the impact of bottled waters on the environment, not whether the products have safety concerns.

Another natural mineral water brand, Ganten, has been reported by the Consumer Council for having exceeded the legal limit of bromate in their products. 

Ganten on Tuesday emphasized that their product complies with legal limits and stated that the watchdog has misled consumers and damaged the brand's image. It added that the legal department has also followed up with the Council on the issue.

(Updated at 4.06 pm)