Evian has established a presence in Shanghai through high-end restaurants, hotels and supermarkets since the Danone Group introduced the brand to China. [File Photo]

French bottled water brand Evian blamed recent claims of a safety scandal with its bottled water on import channels rather than product quality, Beijing Business Today reported.

According to a test by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine in April, an imported batch of Evian mineral water weighing 2.4 tons was found to contain excessive nitrite, a chemical which increases the risk of cancer. For Evian, it marked at least the sixth time the firm's water was blacklisted by Chinese authorities.

"It is out of the question that Evian water contains excessive nitrite," said Dai Ning, the general manager of Danone Premium Brands (Shanghai), the only official importer of Evian in China.

"It is hard to confirm if the affected products were real Evian water, or where they came from, because they were not imported by assigned official importer to the Chinese market," Dai added.

Despite these assurances, insiders say the series of recent water safety scandals expose the disorder of Evian’s import channel management chain.

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