The bottled water scandal: how Nestlé will try to prevent Perrier from being taken off the market.
By Marie Dupin, Radio France Investigation Unit.
On Wednesday, consumer association UFC-Que Choisir will apply to the court for an injunction demanding the recall of all Perrier bottles and the withdrawal of the ‘natural mineral water’ label.
This is a first. On Wednesday morning, 24 September, in Nanterre, Nestlé will have to explain itself in court following January 2024’s revelations by Radio France and Le Monde’s investigation unit about the pollution of springs and the use of banned filters to decontaminate water that is supposed to be naturally pure.
Nearly two years after our initial revelations, UFC-Que Choisir is asking the judge in summary proceedings to temporarily withdraw all bottles of Perrier currently on the market and suspend the ‘natural mineral water’ designation for its famous sparkling water, pending a ruling on the new operating licence application filed on 4 July by the Gard prefecture. This is an interim procedure which does not result in a judgment on the merits, but which would enable the association to obtain rapid protective and provisional measures. According to the association’s lawyer, Alexis Macchetto, consumers are faced with ‘massive fraud, as well as possible health risks’.
Read the full story on francinfo (French) and in English (Google translation)
