Provincial authorities have ordered Coca-Cola (Shanxi) to suspend production after confirming media reports that about 120,000 boxes of soft drinks produced at the Shanxi factory were tainted with chlorine.
The move comes after Coca-Cola said less than two weeks ago that the allegations, reported by mainland media, were false.
In a U-turn, the company was quoted by Xinhua yesterday as apologising for the contamination. And Su Yan , director of the Coca-Cola (Shanxi) Beverage Co, said the company had sealed more than 40,000 boxes of drinks for internal inspection.
According to an online notice posted by the provincial Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision on Saturday, an investigative panel was set up on April 19 to conduct an on-site inspection - which included checking records and interviewing Coca-Cola staff.
The bureau has now ordered production stopped until the branch rectifies the problem of chlorine contamination, but no information was given yesterday on the level of chlorine found in the latest investigation.
The decision came more than a week after the bureau had found soft drinks produced on February 4 contained traces of chlorine.
Earlier, media reports said some of the contaminated Fanta produced from February 4-8 had been sold across Shanxi.