What is the problem with Perrier water and could production really stop?
One of the site’s seven water catchments was suspended from use in April
Producers of Perrier, Nestlé Waters, have been embroiled in filtration scandals, and a new report could see the factory shut down completely
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Production of Perrier, the globally-successful French sparkling water made by Nestlé Waters, could stop due to health and hygiene risks, a new report has suggested.
The confidential report by health agency l’Agence Régionale de Santé (ARS) Occitanie has been seen by news outlets Radio France and Le Monde. They now state that the report suggests that the natural mineral water’s production site, Vergèze in Gard, could close due to sanitation risks.
The report states that Swiss brand Nestlé Waters must seriously consider “a stopping in the production of mineral water on the Vergèze site” due to poor health quality of the samples taken, particularly due to a risk of viral contamination.
The site is the only production location for the famous water. It employs around 1,000 people.
The ARS recommended that Nestlé Waters “strategically consider another possible food use for the current mineral water catchments”, provided that it undertakes “additional health safety guarantees”.
The future of the site and water production could now be threatened.
Prefecture decision
The Gard prefecture also has the power to decide whether to renew Nestlé Waters’ operating permit with a decision expected “in the first half of 2025”.
The prefecture will consider the ARS report, as well as “the opinion of the hydrogeologists approved in matters of public hygiene”, it told Le Monde.
Catchment suspension and contamination
One of the site’s seven water catchments was suspended from use in April after the prefect confirmed contamination by bacteria of faecal origin, which it said could pose a health risk to consumers.
A few days later Nestlé Waters said it had destroyed three million bottles from the catchment “as a precaution”.
It said the contamination had happened as a “one-off” as a result of heavy rain. However the issue was later linked to a general worsening of the condition of the site’s groundwater.
Read also: Four French water brands accused of bacteria and chemical contaminants
Where does the contamination come from?
The contamination largely comes from human activity and farming.
The head of water activities at the Fédération nationale des collectivités concédantes et régies (French federation of local authorities), Régis Taisne, told Radio France: “Recent analyses of this source have shown microbiological and bacteriological contamination.
“All groundwater, whether used to produce natural mineral water or drinking water, comes from the surface and infiltrates the soil and rock. During this process, a number of elements are filtered out, depending on the thickness and nature of the soil.
“The water is also loaded with mineral salts, which are quite beneficial in the right proportions.
“What this contamination symbolises is that between the surface and the subsoil, the human activities that have developed in recent years - with the problems of sewage treatment, livestock farming, wildlife and faecal matter on the surface - percolate down and reach the groundwater table.”
Filtration scandals
The company has been embroiled in scandal in recent years, having been found to use banned treatments - including microfiltration, UV filters and activated carbon - to clean its water at both the Vergèze and Vosges sites (the production centres for Hépar, Contrex and Vittel).
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The ARS states that these “fraudulent practices” could continue, as “there is nothing to prevent the treatment of natural mineral water by unauthorised processes used for other types of water”.
It found that water from at least two other wells used by the company are still affected by “bacterial contamination” that makes them “unacceptable for natural mineral water”. Both were shut down in the spring.
Nestlé Waters confirmed it had stopped using UV filters and activated carbon following the investigation.
However, the company did request that it be permitted to continue to use microfiltration, but with cut-off points lower than the 0.8 micron threshold required. In February 2022, the government authorised the use of these treatments, despite much advice against it.
In December 2022, French safety agency ANSES told the government that allowing Nestlé to use microfilters would not be “acceptable” and “could expose France to the risk of European litigation”.
A Senate committee was set up in December to investigate Nestlé's practices, the responsibilities of public authorities, and the continued possible health risks at the water sites.
‘Microfiltration not regulatory’
Yet, the ARS states that the use of microfiltration at the Perrier site is “not regulatory”, and said that these treatments have “a proven disinfectant effect and are intended to compensate for inadequate raw water quality”.
A report by the inspection générale des affaires sociales (IGAS) warned that allowing Nestlé to use the process, even with a lower cut-off point, could give consumers a “false sense of security” and, ultimately, “expose consumers to health risks”.
The IGAS inspectors cited a gastroenteritis epidemic in Catalonia in 2016, which affected more than 4,000 people, six of whom had to be hospitalised. The outbreak was found to be caused by the contamination by wastewater of an aquifer from which spring water was drawn.
The norovirus had escaped microfiltration and ended up in the bottled water. Microfiltration does not normally eliminate these kinds of viruses or pathogens. The continued use of microfiltration treatment is, a source told Le Monde, “likely to lead to administrative or criminal penalties”.
When contacted by Le Monde and Radio France, Nestlé Waters said it was “unable to comment” on the situation, as it was “not aware of the final [ARS] report”.
