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A joint investigation by Le Monde and Radio France has revealed that over 30% of French natural mineral water brands may be misleading consumers. The investigation found that these brands, which include Vittel, Hépar, Perrier, and Contrex, are allegedly using purification techniques that are prohibited for water labeled as "spring water" or "natural mineral water."

These brands account for over 80% of the bottled water market in France, selling billions of liters of water to consumers each year.

Nestlé, the parent company of Vittel, Hépar, and Perrier, has admitted the allegations, stating that it used ultraviolet and activated carbon filters on some of its water sources "to guarantee food safety." The company claims that it notified French authorities of this practice in 2021 and has since discontinued the use of unauthorized treatment methods. All of its brands now meet French requirements, according to the company.

However, French media outlets are questioning the government's role in this matter. In February 2023, the French government authorized the use of microfiltration purification technology, which allowed factories to continue operating even though it did not comply with EU regulations.

To date, there have been no reports of health risks associated with French bottled water, and it is unclear whether the products in question are sold outside of France. However, French media outlets have cited a scientific study that states that "it is not prudent to conclude that health risks are completely under control, especially microbiological risks."

The investigation has raised concerns about the transparency and regulation of the bottled water industry in France. It remains to be seen what actions, if any, will be taken by the government or by the companies involved.

Over 30% of French Bottled Water Brands Use Non-Compliant Treatment Methods

According to a report submitted to the French government in July 2022, the French General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) estimated that 30% of French bottled water brands used non-compliant treatment methods. The investigation team believes that the 30% figure may even be an underestimate.

The report, which was cited by Le Monde on January 30, 2023, alleges that companies like Nestlé have been using non-compliant treatment methods for years. Due to sporadic contamination from bacterial or chemical sources, these companies used microfiltration techniques below the 0.8 micrometer (µm) threshold, ultraviolet light, and activated carbon to treat bottled water labeled as "spring water" or "natural mineral water." These purification techniques are allowed for tap water or "water that can be made drinkable after treatment," but are prohibited for "spring water" or "natural mineral water."

According to the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES), "natural mineral water" refers to naturally pure water that can be consumed directly. Bottled water labeled as "spring water" or "natural mineral water" should come from well-preserved underground water resources and be very pure natural water. It should not be disinfected.

The use of non-compliant treatment methods raises concerns about the safety and quality of bottled water in France. It also highlights the need for stricter regulations and enforcement to protect consumers.

The investigation is ongoing, and it remains to be seen what actions, if any, will be taken by the government or by the companies involved.

According to Le Monde, Nestlé Waters has admitted the allegations and said that it treated some of its water sources, such as Perrier and Vittel, with ultraviolet and activated carbon filters “to ensure food safety”, and that it had notified the French authorities of this as early as 2021. The company said that it had stopped the treatments that were not allowed in France, and that all its brands now met the French requirements.

As a result of this violation, Nestlé suspended the production of some of its wells in the eastern French region of Vosges. The president of Nestlé Waters, Muriel Lienau, also said that it needed to “overcome the impact of climate change and rising water stress, which affected the mineral content of its water sources”, but that there was no bacteria or pesticide metabolites in the raw water.

However, Le Monde cited a confidential government document that said that some of Nestlé Waters’ wells were contaminated by E. coli, which occurred repeatedly or seasonally, and that this was “due to fecal pollution”, which was deliberately concealed.

In addition, the report said that on December 10, 2020, Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control also investigated the Alma Group (which owns bottled water brands such as Cristalline, St-Yorre, Chateldon, Vichy Célestins, etc.). The investigation found that the company “mixed water from multiple sources without authorization”, occasionally with “tap water”, added “industrial carbon dioxide” to the so-called “natural sparkling” mineral water, used “iron sulfate injections” and “activated carbon filters”, and adopted “unauthorized microfiltration”, ozone water disinfection and “ultraviolet water filtration” methods.

In response, Alma said, “We do not use any non-compliant treatments for any of the Alma brands”.

The French government accused of covering up and colluding with Nestlé Waters

In addition to the violations, the report also questioned the French government's cover-up and collusion. It claimed that since learning of the violations by Nestlé Waters and others in August 2021, the government has tried to manage the crisis with the greatest discretion, and on February 22, 2023, it decided to allow the use of microfiltration purification technology, allowing several sites of the aforementioned brands to continue operating.

Le Monde reported that one of the reasons the government made this decision was that Nestlé Waters argued that if it closed some of its factories in the Vosges Mountains and Gard, thousands of jobs would be at stake.

However, it is doubtful whether the deregulation complies with relevant EU regulations. The report said that the French government has not yet notified the European Commission or the member states of the situation in accordance with Directive 2009-54-CE.

NBD noticed that the EU stipulates that natural mineral water, in its state at source, may not be the subject of any treatment other than: the separation of its unstable elements, such as iron and sulphur compounds, by filtration or decanting; the separation of iron, manganese and sulphur compounds and arsenic from certain natural mineral waters by treatment with ozone-enriched air; the separation of undesirable constituents.

The regulatory principles for natural mineral water in France were originally established by the French Food Safety Agency (Afssa), the predecessor of ANSES.

The report mentions that in a 2001 opinion from Afssa, the agency "estimated that the implementation of a 0.8µm microfiltration was acceptable, as it would not change the 'microbiota' of the water. In fact, any disinfection process is prohibited for the purest waters. Microfilters below 0.8µm are able to filter bacteria and protozoa, and therefore have a de facto disinfection effect." This means that microfiltration below 0.8µm will change the composition of the water, and water sources that use microfiltration below 0.8µm may be contaminated.

In February 2023, the government passed a regulation allowing the use of microfiltration below 0.8µm. When questioned by Le Monde and Radio France, the government claimed that this was done to preserve certain substances, rather than to change the water quality.

Furthermore, the aforementioned government classified documents mention that water quality can occasionally be polluted due to exceptional climatic events, accidental interventions near the wells or technical problems during installation, or as a result of "the natural fragility of the resource, overexploitation or increased anthropogenic pressure". However, after such long-term pollution occurs, the factories should be closed. If the quality of the water produced decreases, it can only be sold at a low price as "treated drinking water".

From all sides, the report considers that the French government's regularization of the companies' behavior is unreasonable. According to the report, French prosecutors said on January 31 that they had opened an investigation in January into alleged fraud by Nestlé's water division.

Health concerns remain

According to reports, so far, no health risks related to the quality of bottled water in France have been found. However, the French media said that “it is imprudent to conclude that the health risks are completely under control, especially the microbiological risks”.

But Le Monde cited a scientific study that said that these brands of treated bottled water may pose health risks. In early January this year, researchers from Columbia University published a method to quantify and characterize plastic micro and nano particles in water in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers said that the presence of microplastics (length 1µm~5mm), and even nanoplastics (<1µm) has raised health concerns, and nanoplastics are considered more toxic because their smaller size makes them easier to enter the human body compared to microplastics.

The researchers tested bottled water from three brands (unknown) and found that on average, there were 240,000 detectable nanoplastic particles per liter of bottled water, 10 to 100 times higher than previously estimated. The study believed that this pollution, which has never been measured before, may come from the microfiltration technology used upstream of bottling.

It is not clear whether the incident exposed by the French media is related to domestic products. According to media reports in 2020, Nestlé’s water business in China includes global brands Nestlé Pure Life and local brands Dashan, Yunnan Spring, and the company also sells natural mineral water brands such as Perrier, S. Pellegrino and Acqua Panna to Chinese consumers.

NBD found that the national standard for food safety drinking natural mineral water (GB2762-2018) stipulates that drinking natural mineral water should be naturally gushing out from deep underground or collected by drilling, containing a certain amount of minerals, trace elements or other components, in a certain area that is not polluted and has taken preventive measures to avoid pollution; under normal circumstances, its chemical composition, flow rate, water temperature and other dynamic indicators are relatively stable within the natural cycle fluctuation range. And it has the following limit indicators:

In fact, this is not the first time Nestlé has been involved in a fraud lawsuit. According to multiple foreign media reports in 2017, Nestlé was sued in the United States. Consumers from eight states, including Connecticut and Maine, claimed that Nestlé North America deceived them into paying high prices by labeling Poland Spring as "100% natural spring water," while in fact Poland Spring was just "ordinary groundwater."

The lawsuit alleges that Nestlé's Poland Spring brand of mineral water comes from wells the company drills in water-rich plains or valleys, with the water table just a few feet below the ground. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines mineral water as "water that comes from an underground source and flows naturally to the surface," and there are specific requirements for how the water is extracted.

In a statement, Nestlé said: "Poland Spring is 100% mineral water. It meets the FDA's regulatory definition of mineral water, all state and regional regulations governing the classification characteristics of mineral water, and all federal and state regulations governing the extraction, manufacturing, product quality and labeling of mineral water."

Nestlé has also been accused of false advertising for this brand. According to a 2003 report by Washington Post, Nestlé paid $12 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that Poland Spring was falsely advertised.

In addition, in 2020, according to Swiss media reports, data from Swiss researchers showed that Evian mineral water was detected with residues of a banned fungicide, chlorothalonil, at a concentration of about 6 nanograms per liter. Although the concentration is far below the legal limit and harmless to health, it has also raised concerns in the industry about whether the treatment methods of such bottled water are reasonable.