Chinese authorities have detained executives of COFCO Coca-Cola Beverages Limited (CBL) after one of its factories was found to have tampered with water pollution monitoring equipment to skirt environmental regulations, according to Beijing Business Today.

CBL is a bottling company jointly owned by beverage giant Coca-Cola and the state-owned China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO).

coca-cola china water pollution
Coca-Cola China explains how it recycles water on its website. Photo: coca-cola.com.cn screencap.

Its factory in northwestern China’s Gansu province was accused of forging water pollution data by tampering with sampling equipment, the Beijing newspaper said.

The company’s executives were given a five-day administrative detention on October 15 as punishment by police in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu.

CBL told the Beijing newspaper they are investigating the incident.

On the Coca-Cola China website, the company said they strictly treat waste water to ensure all their emissions comply with environmental standards.

Vivienne Zeng is a journalist from China with three years' experience covering Hong Kong and mainland affairs. She has an MA in journalism from the University of Hong Kong. Her work has been featured on outlets such as Al Jazeera+ and MSNBC.