Coke insists chlorine content not harmful
By Li Qian |
May 5, 2012, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
COCA-COLA Shanxi Beverages Co Ltd said yesterday that the nine batches of Coke, Fanta, Smart and Sprite soft drinks produced between February 4 and 8 contained minimum levels of residual chlorine, which conform to the national standards according to provincial quality inspectors.
But the company said customers and retailers who bought the soft drinks produced on those dates could still have them replaced.
Residual chlorine is an indicator of taste rather than an indicator of safety, Coca-Cola Shanxi said, assuring the public that its products are safe, meet quality requirements and are not harmful.
The soft drink giant said it offered to replace the products in order to assuage customer concerns.
"We really take public opinions seriously," David G. Brooks, Coca-Cola president for China, told a press conference in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province. "Even if you have opened the bottle, you can call us for a replacement."
Some employees at Coca-Cola's bottling plant where the tainted drinks were produced have been sacked for refusing to cooperate with authorities in their investigation and for deleting work-related e-mails to evade responsibility. But the company didn't reveal their identities.
The former manager of the plant in Shanxi, whose name wasn't disclosed, has resigned. Some major management officials at the factory have also been removed, Brooks said.
The company apologized to consumers and said the mishap was caused by an operational error.
Water used for rinsing beverage packages entered into the water used for making the beverage, which caused trace levels of residual chlorine to leak into its products.
However, Brooks stressed: "These issues are isolated to this one plant in China."
The Shanxi Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision launched a detailed investigation on April 19 and ordered the plant to suspend production because manufacturing conditions at the facility failed to meet required standards.
Su Yan, the Shanxi plant's executive, said the plant has since completed all corrective measures and is awaiting official verification to resume production.
Around 120,000 boxes of five brands, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Fanta, Smart and Sprite, were contaminated and nearly 76,000 had entered to the Shanxi market.
But the company said customers and retailers who bought the soft drinks produced on those dates could still have them replaced.
Residual chlorine is an indicator of taste rather than an indicator of safety, Coca-Cola Shanxi said, assuring the public that its products are safe, meet quality requirements and are not harmful.
The soft drink giant said it offered to replace the products in order to assuage customer concerns.
"We really take public opinions seriously," David G. Brooks, Coca-Cola president for China, told a press conference in Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province. "Even if you have opened the bottle, you can call us for a replacement."
Some employees at Coca-Cola's bottling plant where the tainted drinks were produced have been sacked for refusing to cooperate with authorities in their investigation and for deleting work-related e-mails to evade responsibility. But the company didn't reveal their identities.
The former manager of the plant in Shanxi, whose name wasn't disclosed, has resigned. Some major management officials at the factory have also been removed, Brooks said.
The company apologized to consumers and said the mishap was caused by an operational error.
Water used for rinsing beverage packages entered into the water used for making the beverage, which caused trace levels of residual chlorine to leak into its products.
However, Brooks stressed: "These issues are isolated to this one plant in China."
The Shanxi Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision launched a detailed investigation on April 19 and ordered the plant to suspend production because manufacturing conditions at the facility failed to meet required standards.
Su Yan, the Shanxi plant's executive, said the plant has since completed all corrective measures and is awaiting official verification to resume production.
Around 120,000 boxes of five brands, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Fanta, Smart and Sprite, were contaminated and nearly 76,000 had entered to the Shanxi market.
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