Coca-Cola's decision to recall its entire UK supply of bottled water Dasani was last night branded a disaster for the company.

The firm, which launched the drink last month amid huge publicity, announced that all bottles being sold in Britain were to be withdrawn after levels of bromate were found to exceed legal standards.

The drink had been launched to controversy over claims that it was "pure".

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) began an investigation after it emerged that the source for Dasani was mains water supplied to Coca-Cola's factory in south-east London.

While bromate is potentially carcinogenic, Coca-Cola stressed that there was no health risk from drinking Dasani and said the move was entirely a precautionary measure.

But Stuart Smith, editor of Marketing Week, said: "This could not be more of a disaster from a marketing point of view.

"The issue for Coca-Cola was brand prestige - the idea that when you buy a Coca-Cola product you buy quality. That has been kicked away."

The FSA said Coca-Cola informed it on Thursday that some samples of Dasani had been found to contain bromate at higher levels than were permitted in the UK.

It said: "The recall is a sensible measure by the company as bromate is a chemical that could cause an increased cancer risk as a result of long-term exposure, although there is no immediate risk to public health."

Coca-Cola said it had not been ordered to withdraw the product, but had decided to do so because it did not meet its regulations.

It is expected that more than 500,000 bottles, which sell for up to 95p for 500ml, will be withdrawn from sale.

Bromate is understood to be produced during a highly sophisticated purification process used to treat the water to remove any impurities.

The problem only affects the British market. Bottles of Dasani sold in other countries are not being recalled.

Despite UK setbacks, the drink has been tremendously successful in America.