Asia Tech Wire (July 16) -- Chinese bottled water giant Nongfu Spring (9633.HK) said an article by the U.S. New York State Department of Health was misquoted by the Hong Kong Consumer Council.
Nongfu Spring sent a lawyer's letter to the Hong Kong Consumer Council on Tuesday, asking the council to apologize to the company and consumers.
The company said the council made an unobjective assessment of the bromate content of Nongfu Spring products, causing great harm to its reputation.
Notably, the Hong Kong Consumer Council quoted from a related article by the U.S. New York State Department of Health when describing the symptoms after excessive consumption of bromate.
The Hong Kong Consumer Council disclosed in a report on Monday that after testing 30 samples of common bottled water purchased from the local market, it was found that bromate at 3 micrograms per liter was detected in bottled water samples of Ganten and Nongfu Spring, both from mainland China.
The figure meets the maximum limit for bromate applicable to ozone-treated natural mineral and spring water in the European Union, but is far below the drinking water quality standard of 10 micrograms of bromate per liter set by the U.S., Japan, the UK and the World Health Organization.
It also said that ingesting large amounts of bromate can cause nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, and may also affect the kidneys and nervous system in serious cases.
In response, Nongfu Spring issued a lawyer's letter, arguing that the Hong Kong Consumer Council had applied the standard incorrectly, made an error in judging the standard and had clearly misrepresented its subjectivity, requesting the council to make a clarification, an apology and to eliminate the impact.
Nongfu Spring listed a link to the New York State Department of Health in the letter to prove the subjective misrepresentation of the council.
Tthe Hong Kong Consumer Council said Tuesday that it acknowledged receipt of the letter from Nongfu Spring's lawyers and is now studying and following up on the matter.
The council reiterated that all 30 samples tested were not found to have exceeded the relevant WHO guideline values, and that all samples were safe to drink.
It also emphasized that the focus of the report was on the cost-effectiveness of the samples and the environmental impact of the plastic bottles, rather than on the safety of the products.
However, the council's response did not address the controversy over the incorrect use of the criteria, as pointed out by Nongfu Spring.
And Ganten said on Tuesday that the company's legal department had intervened in the matter.
