Perrier may lose its “natural mineral water” label after harmful bacteria was found in bottles at its main bottling site in southern France – which was not reported to health authorities until 10 days after it was discovered.
Intestinal bacteria was detected in 75-centilitre bottles at the Nestlé-owned factory in Vergèze, Gard, according to documents seen by the investigative unit of Radio France, which revealed that the contamination was first identified on 11 March.
The company has since shut down a production line and blocked 369 pallets – amounting to around 300,000 bottles.
Hundreds of thousands of 50cl bottles have also been held back after tests showed high levels of revivable germs, which can point to bacterial contamination.
Nestlé Waters said the incident followed a “technical intervention on the production line” and claimed there had been “no deviation from the borehole”.
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In comments to business newspaper Les Echos, the company said these events were “linked to the normal operation of a factory”.
“All products placed on the market are safe,” it added.
Delayed reporting
French law requires companies to notify health authorities immediately when contamination is detected.
But the Occitanie regional health agency was not told about the presence of bacteria until 21 March – 10 days after it was first discovered.
A second issue, involving the smaller bottles, was flagged on 22 March but not reported until 4 April.
“The notification delay was a bit too long,” Nestlé Waters told Les Echos. “But this has no impact on the quality of our products, since all isolation measures and production line shutdowns were taken immediately.”
The company had already destroyed 3 million bottles in April 2024, after an earlier contamination with faecal bacteria.
Label under threat
The regional health agency has recommended that the prefect of Gard withdraw Perrier’s right to market its water as “natural mineral water”. This would apply to all boreholes at the Vergèze site.
“Complete destruction [of the affected bottles] could be considered,” the agency said.
Hydrologists approved by the French health ministry have concluded that all Perrier boreholes have lost their “original purity” – a condition required for mineral water status.
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Their report, cited by multiple various French media outlets, issued “an unfavourable health opinion” and noted major differences between Nestlé’s test results and those provided by health authorities on indicators of faecal contamination.
Nestlé Waters said it was “not at all” aware of the health authority’s recommendation.
Legal referral
The French consumer fraud agency has referred the case to prosecutors under article 40 of the criminal code, which obliges civil servants to report suspected offences.
Scientists have also raised concerns about the factory’s use of 0.2 micron filters, which they say were installed to treat polluted water but are not enough to purify it. These filters cannot block all viruses and may let some bacteria through.
In 2022, the inspectorate for social affairs warned the economy minister that continuing to rely on these filters – while removing more effective ones like UV and charcoal systems – would pose a viral risk.
In early 2023, France’s top health official at the time, Jérôme Salomon, said it would be “unacceptable” to let Nestlé use microfiltration alone.
Despite these warnings, the government of Elisabeth Borne granted the company a special exemption, with approval from the Elysée. That exemption remains in effect.
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Future uncertain
Jérôme Bonet, the prefect of Gard, is expected to decide in the coming days whether the brand can continue to be labelled as natural mineral water.
Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe told the French Senate on 9 April that the company had launched an internal investigation.
At the firm’s annual meeting, the Swiss-based Ethos Foundation – which represents pension funds – urged Nestlé to publish the findings, or at least “a summary”, so that shareholders could assess the risks.
