French senate accuses government of Nestle water cover-up
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Nestle admitted to using banned filtration methods at several mineral water sites in France, sparking criticism over regulatory lapses and delayed government response.
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In this Sept. 21, 2018, file photo, is a closeup of pint bottles of purified water, Pure Life, manufactured by Nestle, on sale in a Ridgeland, Mississippi, convenience store. (AP)
A French Senate investigation has accused the government of deliberately concealing Nestle’s use of unauthorized purification treatments in its mineral water products, including the globally distributed Perrier brand. The allegations, revealed Monday in a detailed Senate report, suggest that the cover-up was orchestrated at the "highest level of the state."
The six-month probe, which included more than 70 hearings, concluded that the government failed in its responsibility to ensure transparency toward both European regulators and the French public.
“In addition to Nestle Waters' lack of transparency, it is important to highlight the state's lack of transparency, both towards local and European authorities and towards the French people,” the report stated.
According to the investigation, the concealment dates back to an interministerial meeting on natural mineral waters held on October 14, 2021. Nearly four years later, the Senate report found, “transparency has still not been achieved.”
Secret meetings and delayed transparency
The Senate commission alleged that the Elysee Palace was aware of Nestle’s regulatory violations by 2022, and directly authorized a workaround involving microfiltration, a process not traditionally allowed under EU law for mineral waters. The report claimed that “it was at the highest level of the state that the decision to authorise micro-filtration below the 0.8-micron threshold was taken.”
The involvement of senior officials was further underscored by reported meetings between Alexis Kohler, then secretary general at the Elysee, and executives from Nestle. The report stated that while then-Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne aligned with the decisions made, “she did not appear to have been informed” of the specifics at the time.
Nestle, which acquired Perrier in the early 1990s, discovered in late 2020 that its facilities, including those producing Perrier, Hepar, and Contrex, had been using banned purification techniques such as ultraviolet (UV) treatment and activated carbon filtration. EU regulations prohibit these methods for natural mineral water, which must retain its original characteristics to maintain the label.
Nestle Waters disclosed the issue to French authorities in mid-2021 and submitted a remediation plan. It took 18 months for regulators to approve the company’s shift to microfiltration, a method that removes elements like iron or manganese but must not alter the water’s composition.
EU rules violated, yet no legal action taken
Despite the findings, the Senate report criticized the government’s failure to pursue legal accountability. “Despite the consumer fraud represented by water disinfection,” the report noted, no legal proceedings were launched following Nestle’s 2021 disclosure.
The Senate commission argued that this inaction, paired with direct involvement by the executive branch, undermines France’s regulatory integrity and raises serious questions about consumer protection enforcement.
Nestle Waters publicly admitted in 2024 to using the banned treatments, and the company paid a €2 million fine to avoid legal proceedings related to unauthorized water sources and purification methods. In its defense, Nestle stated that the replacement filters had been approved by French regulators and maintained that its bottled water remained “pure".
The Nestle mineral water scandal has reignited debate over corporate accountability and the role of government oversight in food safety. With mounting scrutiny on both the company and state institutions, the fallout from the Senate’s findings is likely to continue.
