Natural mineral waters marketed by the Nestlé group are the subject of worrying revelations concerning their health quality. A document from the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) concluded that there was an “insufficient level of confidence” to “guarantee the health quality of finished products” from Nestlé.
In January, the group admitted to using banned purification techniques on their natural mineral waters. An investigation also revealed that other French brands marketing this type of bottled water had also purified their waters in the same way.
The report by Anses experts, submitted to the government last October, is clear: the level of confidence in the production process of these so-called natural mineral waters is “insufficient” to “guarantee the health quality of the finished products”. This concerns in particular the Hépar, Vittel and Contrex brands in the Grand-Est, as well as Perrier in Occitanie.
The expertise revealed regular microbiological contamination on several wells, as well as the presence of chemical pollutants, including the famous PFAS, which can sometimes exceed regulatory thresholds. The regulations on natural mineral waters do not allow them to be disinfected, unlike “waters made drinkable by treatment”. Without these treatments, the health quality of the natural mineral waters produced by Nestlé does not seem to be guaranteed.
The firm, for its part, affirms that the quality of its mineral waters “complies with regulations”.
 Frank Verain
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04/04/2024 | 
