Chinese customs officials seized 118,000 liters of Evian mineral water from French yoghurt and mineral water producer Group Danone, believing the water contained an unacceptable level of
bacteria, the Financial Times reported. The company is currently taking legal action against Hangzhou Wahaha, its biggest joint venture
partner in the country, accusing it of undermining their alliance by
setting up a parallel business selling the same products. Danone's legal battle suggests it is having serious difficulty exercising control over the business, but a spokesperson said the two incidents are unrelated. According to Danone, the bacteria is a harmless strain normally present in Evian. It was not the first time that
a delivery by Danone had been blocked in the mainland for this reason. The company encountered the same issue in the US before it adopted world health organization
food safety standards.