Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog apologises after Chinese brand Nongfu Spring hits back over its ‘excessive bromate’ claims

SINGAPORE: Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog on Thursday (Jul 18) apologised after Chinese drinks giant Nongfu Spring hit back at an earlier report claiming that its bottled brand contained excessive levels of bromate that exceeded European Union (EU) limits. 

According to South China Morning Post, the report published on Monday by the Consumer Council had found that Nongfu Spring’s bottled water contained bromate at the maximum level of EU quality standards.

Another Chinese bottled brand that came under the spotlight was Ganten, a Chinese bottled water brand owned by Shenzhen-based drinks company Shenzhen Ganten Food & Beverage.

The Consumer Council's report stated that excessive intake of bromate could lead to discomfort or even affect the consumers’ nervous systems and also warned that consuming large amounts of bromate could cause nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. 

In severe cases, the kidneys and the nervous system may be affected, the report stated. 

Nongfu Spring on Tuesday hit back against the report, requesting that the council “solemnly apologise” to the company and its consumers.

Through a legal letter written by a Hong Kong-based law firm, Nongfu Spring wrote that the article published by the council was “based on wrongful understanding and unprofessional analysis”. 

“By targeting the levels of bromate in Nongfu Spring’s bottled water, the evaluation was unobjective and has brought great damage to (the company’s) reputation. 

“Nongfu Spring requests that the council clarify, as well as apologise and remove, the negative impact brought to the company,” the company wrote in its letter, which was published on their official WeChat account. 

According to Nongfu Spring, the products tested were “natural drinking water” and the product ingredients in the test results table were “clearly marked as ‘natural water (deep lake water)”. 

However, in its evaluation, the Consumer Council had placed Nongfu Spring’s product under the “natural mineral water” classification and compared it with different types of products, and assessed it based on EU “natural mineral water” standards. 

“Nongfu Spring’s ‘natural drinking water’ products, even if adopting EU standards, should be evaluated against EU’s safety standards for “drinking water” and not “natural mineral water” standards,” the letter wrote. 

According to EU drinking water safety standards, the level of bromate should not exceed 10 micrograms per litre.

“Nongfu Spring’s natural drinking water products (contain bromate levels of) 3 micrograms per litre, fully complying with drinking water safety standards in the regions above.” 

The company also further argued that as its products are manufactured and sold in the mainland and Hong Kong, priority is placed on the regulations of the respective regions. 

It stated that the consumer watchdog “forcibly applied” third-party standards that were not applicable on products sold in Hong Kong and did not consider the differences in production and technology. 

“The conclusion drawn (by the Consumer Council) was unscientific and unreasonable,” said Nongfu Spring. 

It also claimed that the language used by the Consumer Council was “unprofessional” and had the “deliberate intention to mislead”. 

A SORRY COUNCIL

In a statement on Thursday (Jul 18), the Consumer Council said after a meeting with Nongfu Spring representatives, it has reclassified the company’s bottled water sample as “natural drinking water” and “re-scored the sample”. 

The consumer watchdog said it had previously classified Nongfu Spring’s bottled water sample as “natural mineral water”.

The earlier classification was based on the content of the four types of minerals shown on its ingredient list, which was similar to that of “natural mineral water”, and Nongfu Spring’s label - “natural drinking water”, it explained.

According to the council, it understood that Nongfu Spring’s bottled water was not “natural mineral water” nor “purified water” but “natural drinking water”. 

As only 3 micrograms per litre was within the range of European Union’s standards for bromate, Nongfu Spring’s bottled water is safe to drink. After “re-scoring”, the sample also had its rating raised from four and a half stars to five. 

The council had collected 30 samples of bottled water products at the end of last year, with brands from Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Japan and Malaysia. 

It explained the products had “indicated which type of water they were, such as ‘distilled water’, ‘purified water’ and ‘natural mineral water’”.

As the contents of the minerals marked on Nongfu Spring’s ingredients were similar to that of “natural mineral water”, it was labelled as such, the council explained. 

The Consumer Council also reiterated that the results of all 30 samples were “ideal” and that no harmful substances exceeding the relevant standards were found. 

“The Council apologises for the misunderstanding caused by the discrepancy in the classification of samples in this test.” 

On Wednesday, Hong Kong lawmakers called on the Consumer Council to improve on the accuracy of its findings, SCMP reported. 

Hong Kong lawmaker Doreen Kong Yuk-foon said that the council should use fact-based terms to present their tested products, instead of just listing them as “good” or “bad”.

“This incident showed that there is room for improvement in public reporting, which may especially impact minority stakeholders of the affected companies,” she said. 

Ms Kong added the findings had intensified public concerns about food safety after reports emerged of tanker trucks that transported fuel being used to carry cooking oil on the mainland.

“The report of the Consumer Council widely circulated on mainland media, causing great concern among the public,” she said.

Another lawmaker said that the report was not rigorous enough, and that the council should clarify and provide additional information about the product tested, SCMP reported. 

In a statement on its WeChat account on Thursday, Nongfu Spring said the Consumer Council’s latest statement showed that Nongfu Spring’s products met relevant standards and was “safe to drink”. 

“Nongfu Spring will continue to provide the Hong Kong market with safe and high quality products and services,” it said.