Nongfu Spring demands apology over 'misleading' Consumer Council report

Nongfu Spring has demanded an apology from the Consumer Council over its recent report claiming Nongfu's water contains an exceeding amount of bromate, which could lead to side effects when overconsumed. 

This came after the Consumer Council announced the testing results of 30 water samples yesterday, stating 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. 

Nongfu then raised three issues regarding the report in a complaint letter, which is published on its Weibo account, stating there are inaccuracies in the application of standards, errors in judgment of standards, and misleading judgement on the products. 

The letter also stated that the release of the report has caused fear among consumers in Hong Kong and the mainland, resulting in huge losses to the brand. As such, the water company has requested a clarification and apology from the watchdog.   

Nongfu Spring said that the EU safety standard for "drinking water" should be applied for its water products instead of the standard for "natural mineral water".  

According to the EU regulations 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 three micrograms per liter. 

As a product produced and sold in mainland China and Hong Kong, Nongfu Spring said its products strictly comply with the production standards of both regions, including undergoing disinfection for all bottled water before leaving the factory.  

However, the company said it’s inappropriate for the consumer watchdog to forcibly apply third-party standards to products sold in Hong Kong and China, and not take into account the effects of ozone treatment of the products. The company said the conclusion made by the watchdog was extremely unscientific and unscrupulous.  

When conducting evaluations, Nongfu said the watchdog avoids directly stating important conclusions such as "pass" or “fail", but deliberately confuses safety standards and uses the phrases “upper limit” or “lower limit”, which is an imprecise statement and is intentionally misleading.  

In a statement seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, the watchdog said it has received the letter and will thoroughly follow up on it. 

It also clarified 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. It stressed that all tested water samples could be consumed without issue. 

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Nongfu Springs for a statement. 

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