"All our waters today are pure at the source," Muriel Lienau, CEO of Nestlé Waters, told AFP, in turmoil after press revelations. She is calling for clarification on the microfiltration processes used on mineral waters in France.
"The food safety of our products has never been at stake and the health safety of consumers has always been ensured. The mineral composition of our waters has never been altered. (…) We have never put pressure on any public decision-maker," lists the woman who took over the management of the Swiss group's new water division (Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages) in January.
She denounces information that is "anxiety-provoking" for consumers and the 1,500 employees of Nestlé Waters in France.
A year after the first revelations about banned treatments (carbon filters, UV) used until 2023 by Nestlé on its mineral waters, media outlets accused the Elysée and Matignon on Tuesday of having given in to the group's lobbying, by letting it market waters that did not comply with regulations and posed a risk to health.
Radio France and Le Monde report a note dated January 20, 2023 from the Director General of Health (DGS) Jérôme Salomon, who recommended "immediately suspending the authorization for the exploitation and packaging of water for the Nestlé sites in the Vosges" (Hépar, Contrex, Vittel) and extending this ban "to the Perrier bottling site" in the Gard.
Jérôme Salomon cited a report from the National Agency for Food, Agriculture and Rural Development (ANSES) on the use of microfilters smaller than 0.8 micrometers, which concluded that the water coming out of wells was "not microbiologically healthy."
– “Clarify” the regulations –
European regulations do not specify the threshold from which filtration is considered to be disinfection, prohibited for natural mineral waters, but an opinion from Afssa (ex-Anses) from 2001, which serves as case law, sets it at 0.8 micrometers.
"Microfiltration is widely used throughout industry. It is therefore strategic for the sector to be able to clarify" this European regulation with "technical reflection", affirms Muriel Lienau.
A parliamentary commission of inquiry, which the director general declined to comment on, is underway into the practices of bottled water manufacturers.
According to Ms Lienau, the effects of the "0.8 micrometre ceramic microfiltration authorised by Afssa (ex-Anses)" are the same as those of the "0.2 micrometre cartridge" microfiltration used by the group: "these are not means of disinfection".
According to Radio France and Le Monde, the Occitanie Regional Health Agency concluded that the group's microfiltration had a "proven disinfectant effect."
Microfiltration at 0.2 micrometers is part of the "transformation plan" implemented by Nestlé and accepted by the government a few weeks after the note from the Director General of Health.
"This is how we guarantee food safety (...) we do not recommend that anyone in the industry operate without this microfiltration," adds Ms. Lienau, requesting its authorization from the authorities since it allows "managing the creation of biofilms" (agglomerated bacteria) "between the source and the bottling plant."
– “Sporadic deviations” –
The general manager claims that all the water is "pure at source" and that "there can be very sporadic deviations", particularly in the Gard after heavy rain, but that the checks make it possible to "stop drilling if necessary".
In April, Perrier had to stop drilling and destroy two million bottles "as a precaution" after the discovery of bacteria "of faecal origin" following heavy rains.
In a report dated August, cited by Radio France and Le Monde, ARS Occitanie "invited" Nestlé Waters to "strategically question another possible food use for the exploitation of current mineral water catchments."
To continue to exploit the drilling of degraded quality, Nestlé Waters has created a new brand, Maison Perrier, drinks based on treated water and sold without the mention of mineral water.
Between 1.2 and 1.7 billion bottles of Perrier and Maison Perrier are produced each year and sold in around 150 countries.
Muriel Lienau is confident: "we believe that the sources for which we are responsible can be protected and managed in the long term" thanks to investments, despite a "vulnerability" which will "only increase".
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