On the 16th, Nongfu Spring and Baisuishan publicly responded to the detection of bromate in their products.

Nongfu Spring: Hong Kong Consumer Council Applied Incorrect Standards

On July 16th, Nongfu Spring's official Weibo account released a lawyer's letter addressed to the Hong Kong Consumer Council. The letter mentioned that the article published by the Hong Kong Consumer Council was based on misunderstandings and unprofessional analysis, making an unobjective evaluation of the bromate content in Nongfu Spring's products, which caused significant damage to Nongfu Spring's reputation. Nongfu Spring solemnly requested that the Hong Kong Consumer Council provide a written clarification, apology, and eliminate all negative impacts on Nongfu Spring.

The letter pointed out three significant errors made by the Hong Kong Consumer Council:

First, the incorrect application of standards. The article indicated that the tested Nongfu Spring product was a drinking natural water product, and the product's composition in the test result table was clearly labeled as "natural water (deep lake water)." However, during the evaluation, the Hong Kong Consumer Council placed it in the "natural mineral water" category and compared it with different types of products, applying the EU's "natural mineral water" standard.

In fact, Nongfu Spring's drinking natural water products, even if the EU standards are adopted, should be evaluated according to the EU's "drinking water" safety standard, not the "natural mineral water" standard. According to the EU's drinking water safety standard, the safe content of bromate is not more than 10 micrograms per liter. In various drinking water safety standards in the mainland of China, Hong Kong, the United States, Japan, and the World Health Organization, the safe limit for bromate is also set at no more than 10 micrograms per liter. Nongfu Spring's drinking natural water products contain 3 micrograms per liter, fully complying with the drinking water safety standards of all countries and regions mentioned above and belonging to high-quality qualified products.

Second, incorrect judgment of standards. As products produced and sold in the mainland of China and Hong Kong, Nongfu Spring's drinking water must prioritize the regulations of the respective regions as the applicable standards. Nongfu Spring's products strictly meet the production standard requirements of the mainland of China and Hong Kong, and all bottled water undergoes disinfection before leaving the factory (currently, the industry mainly uses ozone sterilization). The Hong Kong Consumer Council forcibly applied inappropriate third-party standards to products sold in Hong Kong, ignoring the differences in production and technical backgrounds under different regulatory requirements and failing to consider the effects of ozone treatment, resulting in conclusions that are highly unscientific and inaccurate.

The letter further mentioned that even if the EU's natural mineral water standard were applied for evaluation, as stated by the Hong Kong Consumer Council, the bromate content of Nongfu Spring's natural water products would still comply with the regulations.

Third, unprofessional and intentionally misleading evaluation language. The letter noted that any standard can only be "qualified" or "unqualified," and using "upper limit" or "lower limit" is an obvious deliberate mistake intended to mislead. When conducting evaluations, the Hong Kong Consumer Council avoided directly stating important conclusions such as "qualified or unqualified" but deliberately confused safety standards, using imprecise expressions such as "reaching the upper limit," which easily leads to consumer misunderstanding about product safety. Additionally, the Hong Kong Consumer Council's language in the article was very unprofessional, with comments such as "excessive consumption" of bromate causing nausea, which were extremely irresponsible and unprofessional.

The letter emphasized that the Hong Kong Consumer Council's actions have caused significant negative impacts on Nongfu Spring and requested that the Hong Kong Consumer Council immediately clarify, apologize, and eliminate the impacts.

Baisuishan: Product Quality Meets Chinese, EU, and World Health Organization Standards

On the 16th, Kingtian (Shenzhen) Food and Beverage Group Co., Ltd. issued a statement on Baisuishan's official Weibo account stating that on July 15th, the Hong Kong Consumer Council released a report on the taste, minerals, and safety of 30 bottled water products. Some Hong Kong media reported that "Nongfu Spring and Baisuishan bottled water from the mainland have bromate levels reaching the EU's upper limit, which may cause nausea and abdominal pain." Some reports misinterpreted the test results, misled consumers, and seriously harmed the company's legitimate rights and interests.

In response, the company emphasized that the quality of its Ganten branded products fully complies with the standards set by China, the EU, and the World Health Organization (WHO). According to China's National Standard for Drinking Natural Mineral Water (GB 8537-2018) and the WHO's Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality, the maximum allowable concentration of bromate in drinking natural mineral water is ≤0.01 mg/L. Meanwhile, the European Commission Directive stipulates that the bromate level in drinking natural mineral water should not exceed 0.003 mg/L. The Hong Kong Consumer Council's random testing revealed that the bromate level in Ganten's products was 0.003 mg/L, significantly lower than the limits set by China and the WHO and concurrently meeting the EU standard.

The company further noted that the Consumer Council's report highlighted the satisfactory results of chemical safety and microbiological tests conducted on all sampled products, indicating an overall satisfactory level of safety. However, following the release of these test results by some Hong Kong media outlets, misleading descriptions such as "bromate reaching the EU's upper limit (0.003 mg/L), potentially causing nausea and abdominal pain" emerged, which were inconsistent with the facts and significantly distorted the truth.