Nestle Faces Consumer Complaint in France Over Water Treatment

By Pierre Bertrand

Consumer group Foodwatch lodged a complaint with a Paris court against Nestle's waters business and France's Sources Alma, alleging that the companies used banned treatments in bottled mineral water.

The complaint, filed Wednesday, claims the companies breached European Union and French regulations in their processing of bottled water sold to consumers without their knowledge, the consumer group said.

"We want to reassure consumers that all our French Natural Mineral Waters are safe to drink, and the unique mineral composition of our natural mineral water brands is as shown on the label," a spokesperson for Nestle told Dow Jones Newswires.

Sources Alma didn't reply to a request for comment when approached by Dow Jones Newswires.

The consumer group said the companies used prohibited treatment systems, like carbon or ultraviolet filters, and that bottled water brands Cristaline, Perrier, Vittel, Vichy, Hepar and Contrex were treated in non-compliant ways.

French media in late January reported that Nestle Waters had used banned filter treatments on some of its mineral waters and had informed French authorities of this in 2021.

Write to Pierre Bertrand at pierre.bertrand@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 21, 2024 06:58 ET (11:58 GMT)

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