Doctored Evian logo from Brand Infection

On May 17, China refused a shipment of five shipping containers of bottled Evian water, made by Groupe Danone. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said that the water contained unsafe bacterial levels.

The Wall Street Journal quoted a spokeswoman for Danone who said "The difference is that the Chinese authorities have different standards based on treated water ... When you have treated water, you have much less natural bacteria." She also said that Evian complies with French and European safety standards. According to The Financial Times "Danone said that there was no link between the Wahaha row and the Evian incident", referring to Danone's ongoing dispute with their Chinese joint venture partner.

Reuters has also reported that China refused 30 tons of Australian frozen seafood because of heavy metal contamination.

The moves above do not seem to be a reaction to the recent negative press coverage about Chinese food product safety. In fact, the refusals of imported food products show that China does have high standards for safety written into law. But like most laws here in the Wild East, they are unenforceable.