Bottled water battle

Ayra Wang

Mainland beverage company Nongfu Spring has sent a legal letter to the Consumer Council demanding an apology and clarification for alleged "unprofessional and misleading" accusations in its report on bottled water released on Monday.

The watchdog published a report on 30 kinds of bottled water, saying two models from Nongfu Spring and another mainland beverage brand, Ganten, contained three micrograms of bromate per liter, which reached the European Union's upper limit for natural mineral water.

It also said in its Choice magazine that "ingesting large amounts of bromate can cause nausea, stomachache, vomiting and diarrhea" and "could affect kidneys and the nervous system in severe cases."

The council said yesterday it received the legal letter. It also said the article focused on comparing the value-for-money of all samples and the impact of bottled water on the environment instead of the safety issues of products.

But Nongfu Spring, headquartered in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, said on social media platforms WeChat and Weibo that it is seeking a "solemn apology" from the council through law firm Chiu & Partners.

"The council's article is based on nonprofessional analysis and misunderstanding and made unobjective comments on the bromate content of Nongfu Spring's products," the letter read.

"This has caused great harm to the reputation of the company and, therefore, the company requests the council to issue written clarification, apologize and eliminate all negative impacts brought by the article."

The company also listed three mistakes in the council's article, saying the watchdog had applied incorrect standards to evaluate its products, made wrong judgments and used misleading terms.

Nongfu Spring questioned the council's decision to apply the EU's standard for "natural mineral water" to its products, which it said should be classified as drinking water and the content of bromate should be evaluated under EU's standard for drinking water, whose limit is set at 10 micrograms a liter.

It argued that its products, mainly sold in the mainland and Hong Kong, should be measured by local standards rather than "third-party standards not applicable in products sold in Hong Kong," and said the council ignored differences between countries and regions, drawing "unscientific and less rigorous conclusions."

It also criticized the council for using terms such as "reaching upper limit or not" instead of "qualified or not" that misled consumers.

"The article has caused panic among consumers in Hong Kong and the mainland, leading to huge losses to the company, whose products are fully compliant," it added.

Han Linyou, executive director of Nongfu Spring, went to the council's headquarters in North Point yesterday along with lawyers. Han said he was not satisfied with the council's response and that Nongfu Spring will "follow up on the matter to the end."

The company's stock price shed as much as 3.9 percent to HK$32.20 yesterday and closed at HK$32.55, down 2.84 percent compared to Monday.

Shenzhen-headquartered Ganten said its product complies with legal limits and the article has misled consumers and affected the brand image, according to mainland media. The company said its legal department is following up on the issue.

ayra.wang@singtaonewscorp.com