Perrier: the future of the natural mineral water brand remains threatened

Is the natural mineral water fraud case, revealed by Le Monde and Radio France in January 2024, nearing its conclusion? Yes, according to Nestlé. The world leader in bottled water announced on Thursday, July 3, that it had removed its illicit filters from its Perrier factory in Vergèze, in the Gard department. On May 7, after months of government hesitation, the Gard prefect, Jérôme Bonet, formally ordered the Swiss group to stop using the 0.2-micron filters at the Perrier site, stating that they were "in contradiction with regulations." The government representative then gave the food giant two months to remove them and finally comply with the law.

Just three days before the deadline, Nestlé announced in a press release that it had "adapted" its microfiltration system, "following the prefect's request" , and had installed "a new 0.45 micron microfiltration system (...) in accordance with discussions with the health authorities" . The food giant added that "two weeks after the Vosges site [where the Vittel, Hépar and Contrex brands are bottled], this new system is therefore operational at the Vergèze site" . When contacted, the Vosges prefecture, which had also ordered Nestlé to remove its 0.2 micron filters from the Hépar and Contrex bottling sites, did not respond to our requests.

You have 73.45% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.