A new document from Anses attests to an “insufficient level of confidence” to “guarantee the health quality” of the Nestlé group’s mineral waters. They would be contaminated by various bacteria.
A new document from the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (Anses), unveiled by Franceinfo and Le Monde, points to the contamination of certain natural mineral waters sold in bottles. It concerns waters from the Nestlé group: Perrier, Vittel, Contrex and Hépard.
This note was sent last October to the government: it highlights an “insufficient level of confidence” for “the evaluation of the quality of resources, particularly with regard to the variability of contamination and their microbiological and chemical vulnerability” as well as for “the quality of the mixtures put in place in the production chains of the various natural mineral waters with a view to guaranteeing the health quality of the finished products”, i.e. bottled mineral waters marketed by Nestlé.
Regular microbiological contaminations have reportedly been detected in the form of coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli or even enterococci, while natural mineral waters must by definition contain no bacteria, whether before or after bottling. The report also raises the presence of chemical contaminants such as PFAS, so-called eternal pollutants, as well as pesticides. These elements were able to reach “repeatedly high concentration” in products.
The experts therefore call for increased monitoring of Nestlé factories, “considering the multiple reports of contamination of fecal origin”, “the notable chronic presence of micropollutants” and “the absence of parameters allowing the monitoring of viral contamination of water” .
At the end of January, Le Monde had already revealed that a report from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs estimated that at least 30% of water brand bottles used treatments prohibited by regulations, such as carbon filters or UV. All brands operated by Nestlé were targeted. Nestlé, in its defense, assured that it had withdrawn all these illicit treatments which were used to ensure the disinfection of water and that the health safety of their products was their “absolute priority”.
