According to a confidential report obtained by Le Monde magazine, a well-known brand of sparkling water should consider stopping its production on a specific site due to health risks. We tell you more!
This is a new scandal which has been revealed by The World this Monday, December 16, 2024, in fact the magazine had access to a report from the Occitanie Regional Agency pointing out a significant health risk in a production factory for a well-known brand of sparkling water. A report which would be the result of an inspection carried out last August in a packaging and production factory of a brand belonging to the Swiss giant, Nestlé Waters. This information is confusing to say the least, when the group had already been involved in a scandal of illegal treatments to purify its waters revealed by Mediapart.
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According to The World, these confidential reports point to controversial disinfection practices and contamination of its sources. These revelations have raised concerns about whether production complies with natural mineral water standards. But then what is this sparkling water that is on the verge of losing its natural mineral water label on which its reputation and notoriety have been built? We tell you everything!
Perrier in turmoil
According to the ARS report, the production site in question would be that of the Perrier brand located in Vergèze in the Gard. Last April, a drilling already had to be stopped after the detection of bacteria of fecal origin. Although Nestlé Waters has discontinued the use of certain disinfecting methods, such as UV lamps and carbon filters, the ARS report highlights that other practices remain problematic. But what are they? This is in reality microfiltration which does not have “proven disinfectant effects” as the report reveals.
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The document mentions a “virological risk”in particular due to the limits of this microfilter process, incapable of retaining certain viruses. These revelations weaken the image of Perrier, a brand associated for decades with the purity and prestige of its natural sparkling waters. Could this be a fatal blow for iconic sparkling water brand Perrier? The future of this production unit as well as its thousand employees today depends on the decision of the Gard prefecture which must grant or not a renewal of operating authorization for this source filed since October 2023 by the group Nestlé.
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What are the ARS recommendations?
In this report, the ARS suggested to the Nestlé Waters group to rethink the current use of this factory for other less demanding food uses by inviting them to “strategically question another possible food use of the exploitation of current mineral water catchments”but on one condition: bring “additional health security guarantees”. The Vergèze production unit should therefore “consider having to stop producing mineral water” as reported by Le Monde and Radio France as they describe this “bacterial contamination” as “unacceptable for natural mineral water”.
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According to information from the two media, the Gard prefecture should render a verdict on whether or not the activities of this factory will continue during the “first half of 2025” once the “opinions of approved hydrogeologists regarding hygiene” will be received.
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