Question 14836 — consumption

Summary

Mrs. Annick Cousin draws the attention of the Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity to the revelations concerning the use of prohibited treatments on certain mineral waters by Nestlé Waters, the world leader in the mineral water market. In 2021, the company informed French authorities of its use of banned treatments such as ultraviolet and activated carbon filters, citing the need to maintain the “food safety” of its products. European regulations formally prohibit the disinfection of mineral waters, requiring that they naturally maintain a high microbiological quality, unlike tap water, which is disinfected before consumption. However, the interpretation of this regulation appears to exclude ultraviolet treatments and activated carbon filters, which Nestlé Waters has used until at least 2021, although the precise date of stopping these practices is not known. The matter has remained confidential until now, but it has been known within the ministries for more than two years. Following the first inspections by the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF), representatives of Nestlé Waters held meetings with members of the ministry of the industry. Admitting their guilt, they recognize that their water is regularly subject to contamination (bacteria such as Escherichia Coli, chemical pollutants, etc.) and that they must “wash” them in order to market them safely. In this context, they are requesting flexibility in regulations, otherwise they would have to consider stopping their activities on French sites. Why did the ministry not reveal these actions for the sake of transparency towards consumers? In addition, she asks him if a review of the regulations is planned.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

Timeline

No timeline events have been ingested for this record yet.

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

No documents linked.

Sponsors

No sponsors or actors listed by the source.

Related records

No cross-record relationships stored yet.