PARIS – Consumer watchdog Foodwatch said it was filing a legal complaint on Feb 21 against food giant Nestle and another company for allegedly fraudulently treating water for their top mineral water brands.

A government probe reported in January said about 30 per cent of mineral water sold in France had undergone purification treatment only meant to be used on tap water.

French law, based on a European Union directive, forbids such purification of mineral water, which is supposed to be of naturally high quality before bottling.

Foodwatch said it was lodging its complaint with a Paris court against Nestle Waters, whose brands include Perrier and Vittel, and the Sources Alma group, which also owns several water labels.

The non-governmental organisation claimed Nestle Waters and Sources Alma “illegally processed their bottled waters and then sold them without informing consumers”.

“This is a massive fraud for which Nestle Waters, the Sources Alma group and the French government must answer,” the European watchdog said.

“Nobody, not even a multinational like Nestle, is above the law,” Foodwatch spokeswoman Ingrid Kragl said.

French prosecutors in January said they opened an investigation into suspected fraud by Nestle Waters after a complaint by France’s ARS health regulator.

They spoke after French newspaper Le Monde and Radio France reported that a government investigation concluded in 2022 that “almost 30 per cent of commercial brands undergo non-compliant treatments”.

Nestle Waters said it put some top brands, such as Perrier and Vittel, through ultraviolet light and active carbon filters “to guarantee food safety”, and informed the French authorities about this in 2021.

A government source said the authorities found “no health risk” linked to the bottled water.

Foodwatch said it had also written to the European Commission, denouncing “the complacency of France, which… should have alerted European authorities and the other member states importing these waters”. AFP