80 percent of Chinese consumers doubt beverage safety

Only one in five Chinese consumers trust the quality of bottled beverages and others cite illegal additives as their major concern, according to the results of a survey released on Tuesday.

In what must be music to the ears of New Zealand dairy farmers who are have benefited greatly from China's tainted milk scandal, an online survey conducted by the China Youth Daily showed that dairy beverages stir up the most anxiety in consumers, with 67.8 percent of the 1,290 survey respondents doubting the quality of dairy drinks.

More than half of the survey respondents said the quality of fruit and vegetable juices concern them most, while drinks made by stores and restaurants are the third most worrisome.

The survey was conducted last week on the country's leading portal website, sina.com, after a recent spot inspection on beverage safety problems found six bottled water brands to contain excessive levels of carcinogen bromate.

About 87 percent of those surveyed worry about illegal additives in beverages, while 81.5 percent of responders also expressed concerns over whether toxic or harmful substances are mixed into beverages due to poor quality management during production.