ALBAWABA - Prosecutors announced on Tuesday that Nestle's water division, which makes names including Perrier, would pay 2 million euros ($2.2 million) to end French investigations into illicit wells and mineral water treatment.
The Swiss group, whose water brands also include Vittel and San Pellegrino, will in addition spend 1.1 million euros over two years on projects to restore the environment in several French towns where it operates, as reported by AFP.
The agreement puts closure to two initial investigations into the fraudulent and unauthorized exploitation of wells to filter mineral waters, which is prohibited in France since mineral waters are meant to be naturally occurring.
As per the conditions of the settlement struck with regional prosecutors, Nestlé Waters Supply Est., or NWSE, does not acknowledge any wrongdoing, Bloomberg notes.
The non-prosecution deal was described as the "biggest concerning the environment signed in France to date" by Frederic Nahon, the prosecutor for the eastern town of Epinal.
Prior to the end of January, Nestlé Waters said that it has put select waters—like Vittel and Perrier—through UV light and active carbon filters “to guarantee food safety,” as reported by Le Monde, claiming to have “lost track of the importance of conforming to regulations.”
Ingrid Kragl, fraud expert at Foodwatch, commented in a statement “This is a scandalous decision that sends a very bad message about the climate of impunity: Nestlé Waters can deceive consumers for years around the world and get away with it by simply pulling out the checkbook,”
According to Nestle, the agreement states that there was no risk to the general public's health and that the earlier treatments had no effect on the waters' mineral makeup, stating that “Since 2023, all NWSE activities respect the current regulatory framework and comply with the latest directives given by the authorities.”
