A French bottled water producer has been illegally treating contaminated water in their products, it has been revealed.
Nestle was found to have been hiding the fact the water it was selling under its Perrier, Vittel and Contrex brands had come from a contaminated source, which had been hidden by prohibited purification systems.
Some 30percent of the brands’ products are thought to have undergone the illegal treatment which was uncovered in an investigation by Le Monde and Radio France.
French newspaper Los Echos revealed last Monday that Nestle had “breached regulations to maintain the safety of its water”.
According to Le Monde the Swiss food and drink giant used disinfectants “due to sporadic bacterial or chemical contamination”.
French law does not allow producers to use purification techniques on products labelled as ‘spring’ or ‘mineral’ water, as they are supposed to come from preserved underground resources and should already be safe to drink when they emerge from the well.
In a statement, the water producer admitted it had “microfiltration at [its] waters sites at a finer level than was previously recognised by the French authorities”.
It said: “We have also used activated carbon filters and ultraviolet systems which, though permitted by other jurisdictions, are not in line with applicable French natural mineral water regulations.”
Nestle said it had “proactively” reported its use of the illegal methods to French authorities in 2021 and “presented them with several options to ensure compliance moving forward”.
It added: “The French authorities have validated our use of this finer microfilter as consistent with the applicable regulatory framework.
“At the same time, and under the control of the French authorities, we removed the treatments that were not permitted by France.”
Following the findings, Nestle has suspended some wells used for its Hépar and Contrex brands, which it said were “either close to the surface or outdated, hence particularly vulnerable to wider environmental impacts”.
