Pernrie is as clean as it is hard? Bottled water scandal grips France

French mineral water companies in France are under the spotlight due to climate change and growing concerns about environmental impact in the industry.

It is controversial whether some world-renowned brands, in particular the emblematic label perrier, can even continue to call themselves “natural mineral water”.

In the coming months, a decision in the PERRIER case is forthcoming. This is followed by revelations in the French media about illegal filtration systems that have been widely used in the industry, apparently due to concerns about water pollution, after years of drought related to climate change.

“This is really our water gate,” says Stefan Mandard, who runs investigations in Le Mond. “This is a combination of industrial fraud and state secret.”

“And now there is a real sword from Damocles hanging over Perrier’s head.”

According to hydrologist Emma Haziza, “the trade model of large manufacturers has worked very well. But it is absolutely sustainable at a time of global climate change.”

“When you have big brands that think they have no choice but to treat their water – this means that they know there is a quality problem.”

The story struck the titles a year ago in France after an investigation by Le Monde and Radio France revealed that at least one -third of the mineral water sold in France was illegally treated, or with ultraviolet light, carbon filters or ultra -fine micriimias, which are commonly used to shield bacteria.

The question was not in public health. The healing water was by definition safe to drink.

The problem was that according to the EU law, “natural mineral water” – which is sold with a huge premium over the tap water – is supposed to be unchanged between the underground source and the bottle. This is the whole point of this.

If brands like Evian, Vichy and Perrier have been so successful in France and around the world, this is thanks to an attractive image of mountain countries, fast streams, cleanliness and health minerals.

Recognize filtering of water and industry risks disrupting the market spell. Consumers may start asking what they paid for.

The complication of the issues of Perrier and her mother-mother Nestlé and for the government of President Emanuel Macron-is the accusation that leaders and ministers occupied to preserve the affair of silence, conceal reports on pollution and write the rules so that the perrier can continue to

In their investigations, Le Mond and Radio France say the government considers the mineral water industry so strategically that it agreed to suppress harmful information. A Senate investigation has accused the government of “deliberate strategy for” dissimulation “.

In response to the allegations, the government has asked the European Commission to decide on what level of microfiltration is permissible for “natural mineral water”. Aurelien Rousseau, who was the head of Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne’s cabinet at the time, admitted that there was a “mistake of appreciation” but insisted that there was never a risk to public health.

Earlier this year, during the hearing of the Senate in the industry, Nestlé CEO Laurent Freex admitted that Perrier had indeed used illegal methods to treat his water.

But he also had another recognition: that an official report of hydrologists in the historic site of the company in the Gard in southern France recommended against the renewal of the status of “natural mineral water” for the production of the company.

He raises the opportunity for the first time in his 160-year history, Perrier Water may not be labeled soon like what people accept it is.

According to hydrologist Emma Haziza, “the connection to climate change and global warming is absolutely established.” And if Perrier has the impact on other companies, it is probably because his geographical location sets it apart.

Far from the remote mountain landscape that you can imagine, Perrier’s water is pumped from deep aquifers in the coastal plain between Nims and Montpellier, a short trip from the Mediterranean. The area is populated, highly grown and very hot.

“There is a major climate change from 2017,” Haziza says. “For five years, there were a series of sushi that felt particularly bad south.”

“All aquifers were affected. This means that not only the upper water mass from where the daily water from the tap comes from. We can now see that the deeper aquifers-which companies think they are protected-they are also struck.

“Unforeseen are held. We are moving from a period in which companies can draw water from deep aquifers and be sure that they will be filled, until a period in which it is obvious that the whole system cannot continue.”

The analysis made by Haziza and other hydrologists is that there is now a clear connection between deeper and more surface aquifers. Pollutants (agricultural chemicals or human waste) that drain from the ground into increasingly frequent lightning floods can now break into the lower aquifers.

At the same time, the effects of long-term drought and over-pump mean that these lower aquifers contain a smaller volume, so any pollution will be more concentrated, experts say.

“We can predict that what happened first on the Perrier website will happen with other manufacturers in the coming years. Therefore, we must move away from our current consumption model,” Haziza says.

Last year, three million bottles were destroyed on PERRIER site due to pollution. But the company insists that all problems are quickly discovered; And it disputes the claim that the pollutants enter the deep aquifers.

“We pump water from 130 meters underground, under layers of limestone,” says Perie’s hydrologist Jeremy Praulong. “We are 100% convinced of the cleanliness of water. And its mineral makeup is constant.”

Perrier says there is no EU decision that specifically prohibits microfiltration of microfiltration. The corresponding text simply says that nothing should be done to disinfect or change the mineral composition of the water. The argument ended in what measure to change the microfiltration begins.

The original source of Perrier was eavesdropped by a local doctor in the 1860s, but it was under the British leadership that the brand flew 50 years later.

St. John Harmsworth – Brother of the Magic Newspaper Nortcliffe and Rottermer – Make Perrier A for the word for mineral water in the British Empire.

According to Lore, Harmsworth draws inspiration for the bulb form of the bottles of Indian clubs he used for exercise after a crippling car accident.

Today, the Bottling plant in Vergeze is still at the Harmsworth residence and the original source. The plant is highly automated. The railway track connects to the SNCF network to bring hundreds of millions of boxes and bottles every year to Marseille for export.

The focus of the last year has been on a new brand: Maison Perrier. These energy and flavored drinks prove to be very successful in France and around the world.

The advantage of Perrier is that new drinks do not claim to be “natural mineral water”. They can be treated and filtered without difficulty.

Perrier says the new brand is part of the mixture and that it does not intend to abandon its original source Perrier Natural Mineral Water. It has stopped microfiltration with ultra -fine (0.2 microns) and now uses 0.45 microns, which has been agreed with the government.

He applied to the status of “natural mineral water” for only two of the five wells he used for Perrier’s mineral water. A solution is offered later this year.