A dispute concerning the quality of Nongfu Spring mineral water has been resolved with the local government stating their product meets required standards but national standards should be stricter, says a comment on People's Daily (excerpts below).

The local government in Zhejiang province claimed that the water met local standards.

However neither the government nor Nongfu Spring admitted that local standards were lower than national standards which, according to law, should be the least strict. In other words, the local standards claimed by Zhejiang local government and Nongfu Spring are just that, local.

It is ironic that such a standard could be applied for five years. Responsible government departments need to take action and introduce stricter standards.

This is directly related to our health and we cannot wait.