Nestle: The Mineral Water Fraud

Mineral water fraud: how the Elysée and Matignon gave in to Nestlé lobbying despite warnings from health authorities. Emails and ministerial memos revealed by Le Monde and Radio France show how the executive authorised the Swiss group to continue marketing its bottled waters (Perrier, Vittel, Hépar, Contrex) with illegal filters. By Stéphane Mandard (Le Monde) in Le Temps (Suisse).

The mineral water fraud affair has not yet revealed all its secrets. In January 2024, following revelations by Le Monde and Radio France’s investigative unit, Nestlé admitted that it had used prohibited treatments to deal with problems of contamination, particularly bacteriological contamination, in its bottled waters (Perrier, Vittel, Hépar, Contrex, etc.) and agreed to pay a fine of 2 million euros to avoid a trial. A year later, new documents obtained by Le Monde and Radio France open a new political chapter.

Numerous email exchanges and ministerial memos show how the executive favoured Nestlé’s interests at the expense of consumers by allowing the Swiss group to continue marketing a water that it knew not only did not comply with the regulations but also posed a health risk, mainly of a virological nature. The case was followed and arbitrated all the way to the Elysée Palace.

A year before the scandal broke, in a confidential note dated 20 January 2023, the General Director of Health (DGS), Jérôme Salomon, made his recommendations to the Minister for Territorial Organisation and Health Professions, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo. They are as clear as they are radical: “In view of the health and regulatory issues at stake, the DGS proposes to immediately suspend the operating and packaging authorisation for Nestlé’s sites in the Vosges. In other words, we must act quickly and turn off the taps at Nestlé’s bottling plants immediately. The recommendations made by the head of the DGS also apply to the Perrier site at Vergèze in the Gard department. They have never been applied.

In order to justify his position, Jérôme Salomon highlighted several points made in the evaluation work carried out by the French National Health and Safety Agency (Anses) and presented to the cabinets of the Health and Industry ministers at a meeting on 9 January: the use of microfilters smaller than 0.8 microns is “not acceptable under the regulations” because of the “impact on the microbial content of the water”. 8 microns is ‘not acceptable under the regulations’ because of its ‘impact on the microbial content of the water’, the water at the point of emergence (when it comes out of the well) is ‘not microbiologically healthy’ and therefore cannot be considered a natural mineral water, and the groundwater has ‘not been protected from any risk of pollution’.

Lobbying from late summer 2021

The memo was sent to Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s office on 24 January. It warns the government that it risks a conflict with the European Commission by giving in to the demands of the world’s number one bottled water company: Nestlé Waters could ask to continue bottling, maintaining microfiltration at 0.2 microns, by way of derogation, for as long as it takes to put in place an action plan to restore the quality of the water at source,” it anticipates, before warning: “No derogation procedure is provided for in the regulations. This proposal is therefore unacceptable and could expose France to the risk of European litigation. This last sentence is in bold. Yet this is the risk France has taken by giving in to Nestlé.

A month later, on 22 and 23 February, an interministerial consultation was held on the case of Nestlé’s bottling plants in the Vosges and Gard regions. The meeting was open to the cabinets of the Ministries of Health, Industry and Matignon. Roland Lescure for Industry and François Braun for Health. The meeting was chaired by two advisers from the Elysée and Matignon, Victor Blonde (Consumer Affairs and Competition) and Cédric Arcos (Health). At the end of this meeting, the prefects were authorised to authorise microfiltration below 0.8 micrometres, as requested by Nestlé, despite the recommendations and warnings of the DGS and the Ministry of Health. Nestlé won.

The multinational had been lobbying since the late summer of 2021. On 31 August, at its request, Nestlé was received in the office of the Minister of Industry, Agnès Pannier-Runacher. The Swiss group had just learnt that the anti-fraud authorities, investigating the practices of its competitor Alma (Cristaline, Saint-Yorre), were now on its trail. Concerned, the multinational contacted Bercy to inquire about the situation. In a report of the meeting, the minister’s chief of staff summed up Nestlé’s expectations of the government: ‘A broader interpretation of the regulations, because they will always require microfiltration methods whose validity has not been established. The operation was launched.

The anti-fraud unit responded on 14 September. In a note entitled ‘fiche pour le ministre’, it referred the matter back to the DGS regarding Nestlé’s request to be allowed to continue using filtration processes below the 0.8 threshold, as microfiltration was, according to the company, ‘essential to guarantee water safety’. The Ministry of Health also became involved. Several exchanges took place between the ministries. The possibility of referring the matter to the courts was ruled out (Article 40 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires all government departments to report any offence of which they are aware). Bruno Le Maire (Bercy), Agnès Pannier-Runacher and Olivier Véran (Health) preferred to commission a report from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS), which does not specifically target the Nestlé group, but “the use of unauthorised treatments by all mineral producers”. Several factories will be inspected, including three sites in the Gard region, but not the Perrier site.

Six months late, in July 2022, the IGAS report landed on the desks of Bruno Le Maire and François Braun, who had just replaced Olivier Véran. The conclusions are damning. The head of the DGS summed them up in an email sent to the office of the new health minister on 14 July 2022: ‘All Nestlé brands are treated in a non-compliant manner’. It warns of ‘a particularly high media risk’ and ‘a risk of litigation with the European Commission’ for failing to alert Brussels to such practices. It also warns that ‘the industry could be heavily lobbied to expand the range of approved treatments’ and points out that ‘Nestlé Waters has seen the new Mefsin [Economy and Finance] cabinet’. The IGAS report remained confidential until it was published by Le Monde and Radio France in January 2024.
The offices of Elisabeth Borne and Emmanuel Macron were informed.

For its part, Nestlé very quickly sought to learn the conclusions. On 2 August, a meeting was organised between Muriel Liénau, Chairwoman of Nestlé Waters, Nicolas Bouvier of the lobbying firm Brunswick and Victor Blonde, responsible for consumer and competition issues at the Elysée Palace and Matignon. A month later, Mr Bouvier, who had also met the offices of the health and industry ministers, contacted the Consultative Secretariat again on behalf of Nestlé. He expressed his concern that ‘we still haven’t heard from the IGAS’. The next morning, Cédric Arcos, Elisabeth Borne’s health advisor, sent an email to François Braun’s deputy chief of staff: “Guillaume, we are continuing our discussions with Nestlé Waters and we’ll receive them (within ten days, I think). In the meantime, could you send me some information, in particular on the IGAS follow-up? Less than an hour later, Guillaume replied: “OK, we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Other meetings were organised between Nestlé and advisers from the ministries, Matignon and even the Elysée Palace. In an email dated 24 August 2022, one of François Braun’s advisers reported on discussions he had just had with the head of Nestlé Waters and the lobbyist. According to the report, the Swiss company’s representatives had already met the heads of the private offices of the Ministry of Industry and the Economy and the Secretary General of the Elysée Palace. When contacted, the Elysée Palace did not deny the meeting. The health minister’s adviser also mentioned the contamination of Contrex, Hépar and Perrier wells: “I think I’ve got half the story about the real risk… Above all, they want to know what stage the IGAS report has reached.

At the beginning of September, François Braun referred the matter to Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, the French Minister for Territorial Organisation and the Health Professions. On 28 September, his chief of staff sent a memo to Elisabeth Borne’s office and to one of Emmanuel Macron’s advisers on trade policy, ‘in view of the meeting with Nestlé Waters representatives at Elysée/Matignon’. The meeting was scheduled for the following day. The memo, drawn up by the Ministries of Industry and Health, announces a “progress report with a view to a meeting between Nestlé Waters Supply Est and the Office of the President of the Republic”. The aim is to reach a decision on Nestlé’s request for a derogation to continue using banned microfiltration systems (0.2 microns). The memo cites Nestlé Waters’ “failure to comply with the requirements of the Public Health Code”, the fact that this level of filtration is not authorised at European level, and “the existence of health risks linked to the presence of waterborne enteric viruses (or even other pathogenic micro-organisms)”.

The cabinets of Elisabeth Borne and Emmanuel Macron were therefore informed of the health and legal risks as early as September 2022: the memo mentions the intention of the Vosges regional health authority (ARS) to refer the matter to the Epinal public prosecutor “in view of the shortcomings observed” and states that Nestlé had been informed of this. The ministries explain that “the manufacturer would like to have legal certainty that it will continue with the 0.2 micron filtration process”, while pointing out that it would be “difficult” to “give legal certainty (…) to a manufacturer that has broken the law”.

A ‘form of blackmail

But Nestlé is not giving up. In the face of legal action against its Vittel, Contrex and Hépar springs in the Vosges mountains, the multinational now has to save the Perrier soldier. On 4 November 2002, Nicolas Bouvier, a lobbyist, wrote to Didier Jaffre, the director of ARS Occitanie in charge of controls at the Vergèze plant in the Gard department: “I would like to thank you for your involvement in this matter and for yesterday’s exchange, the sensitivity of which requires the utmost confidentiality. Mr Bouvier explained Nestlé’s arguments in favour of maintaining the 0.2 micron filtration: ‘These filters are compatible with the regulatory framework as long as they do not disinfect the water.

On 28 November, the DGS referred the matter to the Anses for a decision. The health authority’s conclusions were unequivocal: not only was the microfiltration used in Nestlé’s factories “tantamount to disinfection”, but, contrary to the Swiss giant’s claims, it was also “ineffective in preventing the retention of viruses”. Worse still, ‘to the extent that indicator bacteria can be retained by microfiltration, it becomes difficult to identify a risk of the presence of pathogens in the filtered water’. The IGAS has already warned that maintaining microfiltration could provide a ‘false sense of security’ and ‘expose consumers to a health risk associated with the ingestion of viruses’.

For the head of the DGS, Jérome Salomon, action was urgent. Faced with the government’s inertia, he recommended on 20 January that “the authorisation to operate and package water for the Nestlé sites in the Vosges should be suspended immediately” and that the ban should be extended “to the Perrier bottling plant, which also uses unauthorised treatments”. In another message, Mr Salomon refers to “a kind of blackmail” by Nestlé Waters against the ARS: the group refuses to provide the raw water sampling points for carrying out controls until the microfiltration has been confirmed. The multinational is also playing the employment card to win its case.

In an e-mail sent on 16 January, an adviser to the Ministry of Industry summarised an exchange she had just had with the Prefect of the Vosges on the subject of a redundancy plan (‘155 jobs threatened’) linked to the loss of the German market for Vittel: ‘The redundancy plan would be much greater if microfiltration at 0.2 was not authorised: between 170 and 190 jobs would have to be added. The prefect points out that such a redundancy plan would be very difficult for the region to absorb.

Nestlé allowed to keep its filters

The strategy is paying off. After interministerial consultations on 22 and 23 February, Matignon authorised Nestlé to maintain its filters. An internal email from the DGS on 31 January confirmed that “the position of the Ministry of Industry to authorise microfiltration at a threshold of less than 0.8 microns” had prevailed. When contacted, Victor Blonde, who has since joined the investment bank Perella Weinberg, assures us that, contrary to what is stated in the ruling against the Ministry of Health, “all decisions were taken in accordance with the opinions of the competent ministries”. The Elysée Palace, for its part, states that “it is not its role to intervene in water microfiltration methods, but that its teams were made aware of this issue by Nestlé – as is the case with other companies on other issues – and referred interested parties to the relevant government departments”.

Elisabeth Borne’s entourage insists that ‘the matter was never raised with the Prime Minister’. Her chief of staff at the time, Aurélien Rousseau, after consulting his advisers, pays lip service to the fact that a memo recovered by Le Monde and Radio France was indeed sent directly to her on 5 October 2022, but he insists that he has no recollection of it: “It is the only document that mentions the subject that was sent to me. I was not made aware of any disagreement between the ministries. At no time was any public health issue raised with me’. Nevertheless, he admits to ‘a manifest error of judgement regarding the depth of the issue’.

The entourage of Bruno Le Maire, who commissioned and received the IGAS report in July 2022, assures us that ‘the minister learned of this affair in the press, in January 2024′. His chief of staff, Bertrand Dumont, when asked about his meeting with Nestlé executives mentioned in an email, said: “I have no recollection of it. I’d have to consult my diaries,’ before adding: ‘Perhaps during a meeting with Nestlé executives the question was raised, among other things, but I don’t remember.

On the subject of the inter-ministerial consultation at the end of which Matignon decided in favour of Nestlé, he added: ‘It was Roland Lescure who was in charge of the dossier at Industry. His office may have mentioned an ongoing file to me, but I don’t remember. For his part, Roland Lescure does not deny that he was in charge of the dossier, but claims that I was not aware that the Ministry of Health was asking for the suspension of the exploitation of resources. We made a recommendation based on the information we had. Matignon took the final decision.

The recollections of François Braun, the health minister at the time, are also hazy: ‘A health risk had been identified, but the human risk had not been proven’. As for the minister’s deputy, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, now a deputy for Seine-Maritime, she is reserving her answers for “the parliamentary investigatory commission currently being set up by the Senate”. For its rapporteur, Alexandre Ouizille (Socialist Party), senator for Oise, ‘these revelations will lead the committee to extend its hearings to the Elysée Palace and Matignon’.

Source: Le Temps (French, Switzerland)

 

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