ALBAWABA - After discovering faecal bacteria in one of its Gard wells, Nestlé halted Perrier bottled water production as a precaution. After the governor of Gard ordered Nestlé Waters' Vergèze location to stop collecting water, activities were suspended immediately.
Perrier, a Nestlé subsidiary, had to destroy two million bottles of water after finding germs "of faecal origin" in one of its Gard, southern France, wells. As a precaution, the French government has asked Perrier to stop utilising the well.
An April 19 instruction stated that contamination at the location was identified on March 10, 2024, and persisted for many days. Faecal bacteria, including coliforms and Escherichia coli, and pseudo-zoological bacteria in this well's bottled water raised health concerns.
Nestlé Waters said it rejected large batches of Perrier bottles delivered to retailers as a precaution. Nestlé blamed the microbiological abnormality on high rainfall in the Gard region, particularly during storm Monica's passage in mid-March, after a thorough study.
Perrier blames a "punctual microbiological deviation" after storm Monica's mid-March rains for the contamination. The well at Vergèze near Nîmes, a Perrier supply since 1903, is under increased government scrutiny. Nestlé will resume well operations under official oversight.
Perrier has been under scrutiny since January when it admitted employing illegal procedures on some products to maintain quality. This new event has heightened supervision of its French drilling locations, with Vosges wells suspended last year.
