The Swiss company Nestle has been illegally filtering contaminated water since the 1990s and selling it under the guise of “natural mineral water,” RBC reports, citing an article by the French publication Mediapart.
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“Nestlé has apparently been selling billions of bottles of water that had nothing in common with ‘natural mineral water’ for decades in France, Europe and even around the world, with consumers completely uninformed,” Ingrid Kragl of the Defense Association said. consumer rights Foodwatch France .
The scandal surrounding Nestlé's beverage water purification erupted in January 2024 when Les Echos newspaper reported Nestlé Water France's use of ultraviolet and carbon filters to purify contaminated water. Such methods are considered acceptable for the filtration of tap water, but are prohibited in the EU for the production of bottled mineral water.
The company's water sources in France were contaminated with fecal bacteria, Escherichia coli and pesticides, according to a new study. Journalists came to the conclusion that Nestle filtered contaminated water and then sold it under the guise of mineral water. Mediapart estimated the damage from the company’s actions over the past 15 years at €3 billion.
Nestle representatives categorically denied Mediapart's figures and calculation method. They said that Nestlé Water Germany currently does not sell mineral water from France, and all the company's products "can be consumed without any fear, since their unique composition corresponds to the description on the label." At the same time, Nestlé Water France recognized the inconsistency of filtration methods with current laws in France.
In February 2024, Foodwatch representatives filed a lawsuit against Nestle and the French mineral water manufacturer Sources Alma, demanding that they be held accountable for violating production standards and concealing information about it. The Association also plans to seek punishment for the French authorities, who hid from the public the fact of massive violation of the law. On July 24, the European Commission will present a report on the progress of its investigation into this case.
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