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Lo Hoi-ying

Mainland Chinese internet users and Hong Kong lawmakers have weighed in after the city’s consumer watchdog apologised to the country’s largest bottled water company for an inaccurate safety report.
Some internet users on the mainland poked fun at the Consumer Council’s updated findings, which they said showed Nongfu Spring’s bottled water was found to be neither spring nor mineral water according to international standards.
Others wondered whether the watchdog would steer clear of reviewing mainland products in the future after the drinks giant issued a legal letter refuting the council’s initial findings in a safety report that led to its apology.
But lawmakers in the city said the Consumer Council’s credibility was not affected and praised it for owning up to its mistake.
The watchdog said on Thursday it had listed Nongfu Spring’s water in an incorrect category in a safety report after the brand slammed the initial findings as “extremely unscientific and irresponsible” and demanded an apology.
It re-evaluated the bottled water as a five-star product and reclassified it in an independent category of “natural drinking water”.
The council report on Monday claimed the bottled water contained bromate at the maximum level of European Union quality standards, saying excessive chemical intake could lead to discomfort or even affect consumers’ nervous systems.
In the legal letter subsequently issued by a Hong Kong law firm, Nongfu Spring questioned the council’s decision to classify the bottled water as “natural water (deep lake water)”, but then apply a European Union standard applicable to “natural mineral water”.
The company argued that its natural spring water products should have been assessed against EU standards for drinking water instead of natural mineral water.
Nongfu Spring, listed in Hong Kong and founded by Zhong Shanshan, the country’s richest man, held 26.6 per cent of the mainland’s drinking water market share last year.
Its stock price dropped to HK$32.40 at one point on Tuesday, down from Monday’s opening of HK$34.85.
Users on social media platforms Xiaohongshu and Weibo joked that the incident revealed the bottled water they had been drinking for years was not actually spring water by international standards.
“I always thought I was drinking spring water, I’ve been lied to for decades,” one Weibo user wrote.
Said another: “I have to thank the Hong Kong Consumer Council for finally educating me on the true form of water.”

Some even joked the watchdog should test edible oil, after reports emerged about a truck on the mainland using the same tankers to carry fuel and cooking oil without cleaning them between journeys.
Internet users speculated that the watchdog might become wary of testing mainland brands.
“The Consumer Council will no longer dare to test any more mainland products,” said one Weibo user.
Hong Kong lawmakers said the apology would not compromise the council’s reliability, and urged the organisation to be more careful with publishing their findings in the future.
Legislator Doreen Kong Yuk-foon told the Post the Consumer Council should make more stringent checks to ensure it did not wrongly categorise products and apply incorrect standards.
“However, it would be harsh to say that this incident undermines the council’s reputation,” she said. “I’m certain the swift apology helped them regain credibility in being impartial, accurate and objective. If they refused to apologise and admit their mistake, that would be worse.”
But legislator Gary Zhang Xinyu said the watchdog did not need to apologise and noted that Nongfu Spring bottled water still contained relatively high bromate levels compared with other brands even after the reclassification.
He said the watchdog approached Nongfu Spring for comment before publishing its report, but the company dismissed the council and only issued a short statement before escalating the situation later.
“I question if Nongfu Spring’s strongly worded legal letter would do good for their reputation or be convincing to Hong Kong consumers,” he said.
Additional reporting by Ezra Cheung


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Nongfu Spring sent a legal letter to the Consumer Council over findings related to its bottled water. Photo: Jelly Tse

The Consumer Council tested a range of bottled water products. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong Consumer Council says sorry to mainland bottled water giant over ‘inaccurate’ report

The Consumer Council has apologised to mainland Chinese water giant Nongfu Spring. Photo: Jelly Tse

The council had claimed Nongfu Spring and Ganten contained bromate that hit the EU limit. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong’s consumer watchdog urged to improve accuracy after bottled water report

A recent study on bottled water by the consumer watchdog has drawn backlash from mainland China. Photo: Jelly Tse

Lawmaker Doreen Kong has said the council should not just list tested products as “good” or “bad”. Photo: Edmond So

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Bottles of Nongfu Spring water sold at a Beijing supermarket in March this year. Photo: Simon Song

A Nongfu Spring store in Shanghai. Photo: Bloomberg

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Hong Kong

Society

Lawmakers praise watchdog, while some mainland internet users poke fun at findings over classification for Nongfu Spring’s bottled water


Lawmakers praise Consumer Council for owning up to mistake, while some mainland internet users poke fun at findings over classification for Nongfu Spring’s bottled water.


Consumer protection in Hong Kong