Senate report critical of Nestlé’s handling of French mineral water case

An inquiry into bottled water manufacturers in France has criticized authorities for allowing Nestlé to use prohibited treatments.

A total of 28 recommendations were made, aimed at securing the quality of mineral and spring water.

Between December 2024 and May 2025, the inquiry committee held 73 hearings with ministers, business leaders, local government departments, directors of regional health agencies, as well as researchers and other groups.

For natural mineral waters, disinfection treatments and other methods likely to change the viable colony count of water are prohibited under EU law.

Inquiry reveals incident timeline
According to investigators, the issue began in late 2019 with a report from an employee of Sources Alma regarding unauthorized treatments. An investigation by a unit of the French Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) highlighted the use by manufacturers of microfiltration below the 0.8 micron threshold used by authorities. Microfiltration appears to have been used as a tool to reduce the frequency of cleaning operations that require production shutdowns.

In August 2021, Muriel Liénau, CEO of Nestlé Waters, acknowledged the use of activated carbon filters and ultraviolet treatments in its factories in the Vosges and Gard regions. The company said this had not affected food safety or composition of the water. It also presented authorities with a plan to replace the treatments with filtration at a 0.2 micron threshold. Banned treatments were not removed in Vosges until the end of 2022 and in the Gard in August 2023.

In October 2021, the matter was referred to the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) and regional health agencies were informed in January 2022.

Jérôme Salomon, director general of health, sought to make a report of alleged offenses to the Public Prosecutor in October 2021. He was advised against doing so on the grounds that the breaches did not fall within his department’s jurisdiction. In the end, three reports were made: the first in October 2022, the second by DGCCRF in February 2025, and the final one in April this year.

“The regulations appear to give each administration the opportunity to retreat behind a narrow vision of its own responsibilities. The desire to keep the matter confidential for as long as possible has also hampered the flow of information. The commission of inquiry still struggles to understand why the DGCCRF did not use its administrative powers to put an end to Nestlé’s massive fraud against consumers as early as 2021,” said the inquiry committee’s report.

European angle
The inquiry report referenced findings from a European Commission audit in March 2024 that highlighted “poor collaboration” between French authorities and a lack of transparency, as EU authorities were not informed and only became aware of the issue thanks to French media in January 2024.

Auditors said French the system is not designed to detect or mitigate fraud in the natural mineral and spring waters sector. It is also not correctly enforced, making the sale of potentially fraudulent products possible.

The committee also raised the failure to suspend production of non-compliant natural mineral water, saying no political or administrative authority showed any willingness to stop the marketing of products that did not comply with the label.

According to the inquiry report, a whistleblower contacted the committee alleging Nestlé Waters had a report altered to remove some references to water contaminated by bacteria. Authorities agreed to replace certain paragraphs with those provided by the company.

“With food safety as a primary goal, practices at some of our waters production sites may not be in line with the applicable regulatory framework. We regret this situation and, as part of our review, we are committed to taking action under the supervision of the relevant authorities,” said Nestlé Waters.

Ingrid Kragl, foodwatch’s information director, said: “We now understand better why the French government failed to inform the European Commission and other member states: for years, it was clearly too busy covering up massive fraud instead of enforcing regulations. This allowed Nestlé to sell fraudulent products and deceive consumers without being held accountable.”

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/05/senate-report-critical-of-nestles-handling-of-french-mineral-water-case/