Coca-Cola Shanxi Beverages on Friday announced the resignation of its general manager and the suspension of several employees after admitting traces of chlorine were found in some of its drinks.

A public apology from Coca-Cola - David G. Brooks, president of Coca-Cola Greater China and Korea, said, "We had some problems over a period in the past failed to give a timely report on the situation to the superintendent departments, media and the public. We hereby sincerely apologize for that."

The apology came after a recent food scandal. The Coca-Cola's production line in North China's Shanxi Province has been forced to halt after chlorine was found in some of its drinks due to errors made during a routine pipe maintenance procedure.

David G. Brooks said, "We have confirmed that traces of dissociate residual chlorine flowed into the water used for producing drinks during a pipe refitting project on February 3, when some employees, due to errors in operation, opened the valve between the beverage production processing water pipe and the daily-use water production pipe. This is the root cause we have found in our investigations."

Coca-Cola Shanxi Beverages on Friday announced the resignation of its general manager and the suspension of several employees after admitting traces of chlorine were found in some of its drinks.

According to Brooks, the contamination involved more than 120-thousand boxes of product, of which nearly 76-thousand came onto the market while the rest stayed sealed in the company's warehouse. The company has taken corrective measures to minimize the negative impact due to this scandal.

David G. Brooks said, "We began on Wednesday to exchange the products produced between February 4 and 8 and we accept any demand for refund or exchange from consumers. We will destroy all the contaminated products gradually according to the global standards set up by the Coca-Cola and in line with environmental protection."

China, the third-largest market for Coca-Cola, accounts for 8 percent of the company's global sales by volume.

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