Nestlé will spend €2 million to stop water probes in France.
The agreement concludes preliminary investigations into the illegal practice of filtering mineral waters in France, where mineral waters are supposed to be natural, using wells dug without permission and through deception.
The deal ends preliminary probes into the use of wells without authorization and fraud for filtering its mineral waters, a practice that is illegal in France where mineral waters are supposed to be natural.
Nestlé’s water subsidiary, which produces brands such as Perrier, will pay €2 million to close French probes over illegal wells and treatment of mineral water, prosecutors said on Tuesday, September 10.
The prosecutor in the eastern town of Epinal, Frédéric Nahon, said the non-prosecution agreement was the “biggest concerning the environment signed in France to date.”
The deal ends preliminary probes into the use of wells without authorization and fraud for filtering its mineral waters – a practice that is illegal in France where mineral waters are supposed to be natural.
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€1.1 million on environment projects
The Swiss group, whose water brands also include Vittel and San Pellegrino, will in addition spend €1.1 million over two years on projects to restore the environment in several French towns where it operates.
The prosecutor said the non-prosecution agreement was justified as Nestlé had cooperated with the probe, had brought its practices into compliance and there were no public health consequences.
The deal, “while sanctioning the unauthorized activities that were found, encourages a faster conclusion, remediation of the environmental damage and compensation of several parties,” he said.
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A local environmental group welcomed the deal but consumer groups criticized it. “It’s a scandalous decision which sends a very bad message about a climate of impunity: Nestlé Waters can deceive consumers around the world for years and get away with it by pulling out its checkbook,” said Ingrid Kragl, a fraud expert at Foodwatch.
