Nongfu closes plant, sues paper

Nongfu Spring, one of the country's largest water producers, said Monday that it is suing the Beijing Times for multiple news reports that labeled the company's products substandard, claiming its reputation has been severely damaged.

The lawsuit by the Zhejiang-based company, which has not yet been accepted by the Beijing Municipal NO.2 Intermediate People's Court, demands 60 million yuan ($9.7 million) in compensation from the newspaper.

During a press conference Monday, the Beijing Times' reporters who contributed to the coverage defended their reporting saying the stories are solid. They reported that the company failed to meet national standards when producing its 19-liter jug of water sold in Beijing.

They also said the label attached to the jugs only indicate it meets local standards, which allow five times the amount of arsenic and cadmium as do national standards.

Zhong Shanshan, CEO of the company, said although the packaging label does not mention national standards, that doesn't mean the company has failed to follow them. He said labeling isn't mandatory, adding that many local standards for drinking water are stricter than national standards.

Zhong underlined the quality of Nongfu's product is far above existing national, industrial and local standards, adding the company welcomes further checks by a third-party institution under the media's supervision.

Many media outlets at the press conference questioned the accuracy of the news reports, saying some sources quoted in the reports that accuse the company of producing substandard water are not enforcement authorities.

The reporters did not answer these questions during the press conference, nor did they provide comment when reached by the Global Times.

Production of the company's Beijing water plant has ceased, and the company will soon shut down the plant. "The justice and dignity of the company are more important than profit," said Zhong, who apologized to the company's 100,000 subscribers of its water service in Beijing for the inconvenience.

The Beijing Times reported on Monday that production at the bottling plant had been stopped by the Beijing Bureau of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, but Zhong denied this was the reason for the shutdown.

The company said it will continue to sell smaller jugs of water in Beijing, which are produced in other areas.

"Subscribers of the 19-liter jug can go directly to supermarkets and stores to change their invoices to the 5-liter jugs of water as an alternative," Zhong said.