Nestlé Waters – owner of the French mineral water brands Vittel and Perrier, among others (1) – is the protagonist together with Sources Alma (Cristaline brand) of a gigantic fraud, which lasted at least 15 years, that brought illicit profits of over 3 billion of Euro. (2)
The revelations by Le Monde and France Info, and the subsequent news of the recall of two million bottles of Perrier water, in January and April 2024, find a common thread in the judiciary’s investigations (3,4). While FoodWatch requests the disclosure of brands. (5)
1) Natural mineral water, meaning and value
Mineral Waters Directive 2009/54/EC defines the purity requirements at the source of natural and spring mineral water, its microbiological stability, the authorization criteria for the plants, the obligation of bottling at the source and the labeling requirements.
Natural mineral water and spring water is pure by definition. The only permitted treatments are therefore:
– filtration or decantation, possibly preceded by oxygenation, to separate unstable elements (i.e. iron and sulfur compounds)
– treatment with ozone-enriched air to separate some compounds (iron, manganese, arsenic sulphur)
– absorption of fluorine via activated alumina (6,7).
Water that does not meet the requirements mentioned above can instead be classified as ‘drinkable’, in compliance with the requirements imposed by the Water Directive (EU) 2020/2184 to managers of public and private water networks. (8)
2) Nestlé Waters, drinking water sold as French ‘mineral water’
An investigation report of the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) seen by the independent magazine Mediapart reveals that Nestlé Waters purchased UV equipment as early as 2005 and used unauthorized filters since at least 2010′.
The expensive bottles of water bottled by Nestlé in the Vosges region – under the brands Vittel, Contrex and Hépar – would therefore not be ‘natural mineral water’ but rather ‘drinking water’, as it is treated with infrared radiation and carbon filters. Completing a fraud with an estimated value of over €3 billion.
4) Possible public health risks
ANSES – the French National Agency for Food, Environmental and Work Health and Safety – has in turn declared that it is not able to exclude possible food safety risks and thus public health risks. (1) In this regard, the recent recall of two million bottles of Perrier water, due to contamination by pathogenic bacteria of faecal origin is worth mentioning. (3)
Foodwatch– the liveliest consumer association in France and the European Union – underlines that the purpose of these treatments, illegal in mineral waters, is to address’ contamination from fecal substances, pesticides, PFAS or E. coli bacteriaalready detected at the Perrier, Vittel and Hépar water sites. The organization is therefore calling for necessary clarifications from regulatory authorities.
5) Foodwatch, a petition to affirm consumer rights
‘ In the middle of summer, when bottled water consumption is at its peak, these large groups have every interest in keeping this scandalous affair hidden. It is not being talked about! We want information about these products without delay.
Which brands are involved, which bottles were illegally processed, where have they been sold and how long have these illegal processes been in use? How pure is the water currently extracted by the industry? We have the right to know!‘ (Ingrid Kragl, Foodwatch, communications manager).
6) Nestlé Waters, 15 years of food fraud
Mediapart, who had access to the investigators’ report presented to the public prosecutor following the Foodwatch complaint, revealed that for decades Nestlé has been selling ‘billions of bottles of water that had nothing to do with natural mineral water’, continues Ingrid Kragl. ‘In France, in Europe and even worldwide, without ever informing consumers’.
‘This is the confirmation of what we suspected with our complaint: a massive fraud organized by the multinational. This is a serious matter. The investigators even speak of a ‘group strategy’ and Nestlé’s ‘will’ to deceive consumers. We therefore ask that a judicial investigation be opened without delay.
In the meantime, we work together with you to continue to put pressure on Nestlé Waters and Sources Alma’.
7) Nestlé, unscrupulous finance
Nestle SA is worth remembering, is the largest food industrial group on the planet. In numbers:
– headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland, 340 production plants in 76 countries, 270.000 employees globally
– €96,11 billion in sales in 188 countries (2023), with a solid presence in emerging economies (41% of turnover)
– increasing operating margin (17,3%) and uninterrupted growth in returns to shareholders for 29 years (9,10).
Finance drives the giant which has indeed focused, in recent years, on the most lucrative product categories:
– beverages leading the way (€25,6 billion in sales in 2023), from Nescafé to Nespresso, with child labor and worker exploitation (11)
– pet food in second place, €19,5 billion, thanks to the famous Purina brand
– ‘nutrition and health science’ following, €15,8 billion, with series B baby food for low- and middle-income countries (12)
– ready meals and ‘cooking aids’ in fourth place, €12 billion, including Maggi and Buitoni, which is under trial in France for its deadly pizzas (13)
– milk-based products and ice cream(€11,4 billion), sweets (€8,4 billion) to consolidate the junk food ceiling (14), and finally
– mineral water (€3,4 billion). Natural mineral, or drinkable?
8) Provisional conclusions
What responsibilities, what CSR, what ESG in a company where State Street Advisors, Vanguard and Blackrock are among the top shareholders?
We invite all our readers join the Foodwatch’s petition, by following the link in note 5.
Dario Dongo
Footnotes
(1) The best-known Nestle Waters brands in the mineral water category in France are Vittel, Perrier, Contrex, Hépar, St-Yorre
(2) Pascale Pascariello. Eaux en bouteille scandal: Nestlé fraud has reached more than 3 billion in 15 years. Mediapart. 18.7.24 https://tinyurl.com/p27askss
(3) Stéphane Foucart. Revealed: France’s bottled water plants widely used fraudulent purifying techniques. Le Monde. 30.1.24 https://tinyurl.com/yznwd83t
(4) Nestlé destroys two million bottles of Perrier over bacterial contamination. Le Monde. 25.4.24 https://tinyurl.com/2v5ynkfu
(5) Eaux en bouteille Cristaline, Perrier, Contrex, Vittel, etc.: this is the time to make the comptes! Foodwatch https://tinyurl.com/ypkch845
(6) Directive 2009/54/EC on the exploitation and marketing of natural mineral waters https://tinyurl.com/4r5pjxx5
(7) Regulation (EU) No 115/2010 laying down the conditions for use of activated alumina for the removal of fluoride from natural mineral waters and spring waters https://tinyurl.com/359bad5b
(8) Maria Grazia Sangalli, Maria Ada Marzano, Dario Dongo. Water quality, the duties of managers of public and private facilities . GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(9) Ramish Cheema. 25 Biggest Food Companies in the World by Revenue. Yahoo Finance. 30.5.24 https://tinyurl.com/2s5938z4
(10) Nestlé reports full-year results for 2023. Nestlé. 22.2.24 https://tinyurl.com/34rd9uma
(11) Dario Dongo. Nespresso. B-Corp certification and human rights and environmental abuses . GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(12) Marta Strinati. Nestlé, second-class baby food in disadvantaged countries . GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(13) Marta Strinati. Pizza Fraîch’Up, the Nestlé Buitoni factory was a time bomb . GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
(14) Marta Strinati. Nestlé acknowledges that 60% of its products are unhealthy . GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade).
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
