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Bottled water: Brussels criticizes controls in France

by AI | 26.Jul 2024 | Europe in brief AI

The European Commission has found that the French system for monitoring bottled water is not effective enough to prevent fraud.

An employee checks the water bottles at the Nestlé plant in Contrexéville, eastern France, on May 23, 2017 (Photo: SÉBASTIEN BOZON / AFP)

Paris – The system put in place by France to control bottled water is tainted by “serious shortcomings” and does not guarantee the absence of fraudulent products on the shelves, the European Commission said in an audit published on Wednesday. 

Brussels had initiated this verification after press reports in January mentioning possible infractions and organized a ten-day mission in March.

According to its conclusions, there are indeed adequate procedures and laboratory testing capabilities in France. But “overall, the official control system does not effectively verify that the natural mineral waters placed on the market meet the legal requirements in force”.

A French subsidiary of the Swiss food giant Nestlé – which extracts in France the water of the brands Perrier, Vittel, Hépar and Contrex – had acknowledged at the end of January having resorted to prohibited disinfection treatments to maintain their “food safety”. (24.07.2024)