Perrier, Contrex, Hépar… Nestlé admits to treating its mineral water with banned products with government blessing

After the Butoni pizza scandal at the Caudry factory (Hauts-de-France), the Nestlé group is once again in turmoil. Its subsidiary Nestlé Waters, the world’s number one mineral water producer, has admitted to deliberately using ultraviolet treatment and carbon filters on some of its waters (Perrier, Vittel, Hepar and Contrax) over the years. “Food Safety”.

A disinfection practice, common to tap water, but restricted to mineral water, must naturally be of high microbiological quality. “It was a legacy of the past, our brands are now fully compliant with the regulatory framework that applies in France,” After the revelations, Nestlé assured France’s president, AFP Muriel Linau the echo.

Late mea culpa from the company

The company used these techniques because “Changes in the environment surrounding its sources, which sometimes make it difficult to maintain the stability of essential characteristics” of its water. In short, a guarantee of absence of pollution. In order to avoid a scandal comparable to Butoni’s Pizza, the firm took the lead this time and reported its regulation fraud to health authorities in 2021.

A belated mea culpa, a priority, even if the firm is not apt to specify how long it has been practicing this “disinfection”. Rather compromised, the state authorized Nestlé to use microfiltration, which is not considered contrary to European regulations. “This “mea culpa” operation from the multinational was, in fact, orchestrated by its communications teams” Advance Franceinfo, author with Le Monde of the investigation published on Tuesday January 30 on the subject.

The investigation, revealing a more complex matter than it seems, pointed to the responsibility of the government, particularly by the Minister for Industry at the time, Agnes Pennier-Runker. The state knew, and even authorized, the use of the prohibited treatment. According to the work of journalists, 30% of “branded” water is affected by these practices, 100% of Nestlé.

However, this flexibility did not make it possible to save all the wells in the group. In the Vosges, four (belonging to the Hepar and Contrax brands) had to be closed, as they were particularly vulnerable to climate risks. And in Gard, two of the eight wells used to produce Perrier were diverted to a new brand created for the occasion, Maison Perrier, a range of sparkling waters with less stringent standards than mineral waters.

“There is more than a failure of control, there is an abandonment of the state. »

Bernard Schmidt, former doctor, member of the “Eau 88” collective

Added to the end of the marketing of the Vittel brand in Germany, the measures led the group to launch a social plan in the Vosges, which saw 171 job cuts without redundancies in line with an agreement reached in November with unions.

“We didn’t know (these practices), but it doesn’t surprise us that they were forced to filter this water to keep its (mineral) composition which should be stable.” AFP Bernard Schmidt, a former doctor, reacts to a member of the “Eau 88” collective, which fights against Nestlé’s overexploitation of local water tables. “It’s a company that does what it wants and nobody has the means to control what it does,” The worker regrets. “For me, there is more than the failure of controls, the abandonment of the state (…), the successive powers” for years.