A state scandal contained in our bottled waters?
This Tuesday, Le Monde and the investigation unit of Radio France published a joint investigation revealing that a third of bottled water brands have used filtering techniques which do not respect French standards.
The government, which would have been aware of these practices, would have decided as a result to relax the regulations rather than sanctioning the brands concerned.
What are the criticisms of bottled water brands?
The investigation points to the use of ultra-powerful filtering techniques: microfiltration of water below the threshold of 0.8 microns;
ultraviolet treatment and the use of activated carbons.
These techniques are authorized to treat tap water or more generally for water that is not naturally potable, but prohibited for spring water or natural mineral water.
Journalists also mention practices described as “fraudulent”, such as mixing with tap water.
Since the start of the week, it is the world number 1 in the sale of bottled water, Nestlé Waters (Perrier, Vittel, Hépar or Contrex), which has been in the spotlight.
In an interview given to the daily Les Échos, the brand admitted to having gone beyond the regulatory framework.
However, he is not the only one to have resorted to these practices.
According to Le Monde and Radio France, this would be the case for a third of bottled water brands.
How did the business start?
It was not with Nestlé Waters that the affair began.
It all started in 2020, when a former employee of the Alma group (Cristalline, St-Yorre, Vichy, Châteldon) reported suspicious practices in a group factory to the Directorate General for Competition (DGCCRF).
As reported by the local daily La Montagne, factories were raided immediately.
The Alma group affirmed at the end of January that it did not use any “unauthorized treatments to prevent or treat episodic contamination occurring at the source”.
According to the investigation by Le Monde and Radio France, worried about this first report, the Nestlé group would have contacted the Minister of Industry at the time, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, from 2021. During a meeting organized in Bercy in June of the same year, Nestlé allegedly defended the need to filter its water as much as possible due to numerous bacterial contaminations on its farms.
What was the role of government?
The government, aware of Nestlé's practices since 2021, did not take legal action.
He ordered an administrative investigation by the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) into all water conditioning plants present in the territory.
The Igas report, delivered in July 2022, concludes that 30% of firms in the sector use these uses.
On February 22, 2023, at the end of an interministerial meeting, the government decided to relax the regulations by means of prefectural decrees in order to authorize this filtering.
Are these practices dangerous for health?
These methods do not present health risks.
According to Igas, the techniques used by Nestlé are “clearly consistent with public health”.
This is also what Nestlé was keen to point out, in the columns of Les Échos this Monday.
While acknowledging having made “errors, leading to compliance issues”, the president of the group Muriel Lineau affirmed that “food safety” for consumers was guaranteed.
A government source also refutes any “health risk” linked to these techniques.
This would rather be a case of consumer deception.
By not specifying that they had used these techniques, the brands in question have misled the consumer about the origin of the water, which is “washed” and therefore not naturally mineral.
In an opinion issued in 2003, the French Food Safety Agency explained that these very powerful filters are prohibited on mineral waters and spring waters because they are in principle “microbiologically healthy”.
The Nestlé group could now be sued.
Under the Consumer Code, deception or attempted deception is punishable by two years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros.
The consumer defense association Foodwatch has announced its intention to file a complaint.