Is Perrier as pure as they claim? The scandal for bottled water that shakes France

According to hydrologist Emma Haziza, “the commercial model of the great producers has worked very well, although it is absolutely unsustainable in an era of global climate change.”

“When big brands consider that they have no choice but to treat water, that means they know there is a quality problem.”

The news jumped to the headlines a year ago in France, after an investigation of The world y Radio France He would reveal that at least one third of the mineral water sold in that country had been illegally treated with ultraviolet light, coal filters or ultrafine micromallas, commonly used to eliminate bacteria.

The problem was not public health. The treated water was, by definition, safe to drink.

The problem was that, according to EU legislation, the “natural mineral water”, which is sold at a much higher price than tap water, must remain unchanged between the underground source from which it is removed and the bottle. That is the essence of the product.

If you marks such as Evian, Vichy and Perrier have been so successful in France and throughout the world, it is thanks to an attractive image of mountain slopes, caudalous streams, purity and minerals beneficial for health.

If it is admitted that the water filters, the industry runs the risk of breaking the market spell. Consumers could start asking what they have been paying.

To further complicate the situation of Perrier and his parent company, Nestlé -as well as that of the government of President Emmanuel Macron -has made the accusation that company executives and ministers conspired to silence the matter, covered up contamination reports and rewritten the rules so that Perrier could continue to use the microfiltration.

In your investigations, The world y Radio France They alleged that the government considered the mineral water industry so strategic that it agreed to hide harmful information.

An investigation by the Senate about the matter accused the government of a “deliberate strategy” of “disguise.”

In response to the accusations, the Government asked the European Commission to determine what microfiltration level is allowed for “natural mineral water.”

Aurelien Rousseau, then chief of cabinet of Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, admitted that there was a “error of appreciation”, but insisted that there was never any risk to public health.

Earlier this year, at the Senate Audience about the industry, the executive director of Nestlé, Laurent Freixe, admitted that Perrier had effectively used illicit methods to treat his water.

But he also admitted something else: that an official hydrologists report on the place where the company in the department of GARD historically brings the water in the southern France, recommended not renewing the category of “natural mineral water.”

This raises the possibility that, for the first time in its 160 years of history, Perrier's water soon not enough like what people suppose.

According to hydrologist Emma Haziza, “the connection with climate change and global warming is absolutely demonstrated.” And if Perrier is feeling the impact before other companies, it is probably due to its geographical location.

Far from the remote mountain landscape that one could imagine, Perrier's water is pumped from deep aquifers in the coastal plain between Nimes and Montpellier, a short distance from the Mediterranean.

The area is densely populated, with intense agricultural activity, and is very hot.

“There has been a great climate change since 2017,” says Haziza. “For five years there was a succession of droughts, which felt especially in the south.”

“All aquifers were affected. This means not only the upper water table, where running water comes. Now we can see that the deepest aquifers, which companies believed protected, are also being affected.”

“The unforeseen event is happening. We are going from an era in which companies could extract water from deep aquifers and have the assurance that they would be replenished, at a time when it is evident that the entire system cannot continue,” he says.

Haziziza's analysis and other hydrologists indicates that there is now a clear connection between deep and superficial aquifers.

Contaminants (agricultural chemical compounds or human waste) that drain from the land in the increasingly frequent sudden floods can now reach the lower aquifers.

At the same time, the effects of prolonged drought and excessive pumping make these lower aquifers contain less volume of water, so any pollution will be more concentrated, experts affirm.

“We can foresee that what happened first at the Perrier plant will happen to other producers in the coming years. That is why we must get away from our current consumption model,” says Haziza.

Last year, three million bottles had to destroy due to contamination.

However, the company insists that any problem is detected quickly and rejects the statement that pollutants are penetrating deep aquifers.

“We pump water at 130 meters underground, under layers of limestone,” says Perrier's hydrologist Jérémie Pralong. “We are 100% convinced of the purity of water. And its mineral composition is constant.”

Perrier states that there is no EU regulations that specifically prohibit microfiltration. The relevant text simply establishes that nothing should be done to disinfect or alter the mineral composition of water.

The dispute is on what level of microfiltration the alteration begins.

Perrier's original spring was first exploited by a local doctor in the 1860s, but was under British management that the brand took off 50 years later.

William Albert St John Harmsworth, brother of two magnates from the press, turned Perrier into synonym of mineral water throughout the British empire.

According to the company, for the bulbous form of Harmsworth bottles he was inspired by the Indian mazes he used to exercise after a car accident that left it paralyzed.

Today, the Vergèze bottling plant is still next to the Harmsworth residence and the original source.

The plant has been highly automated. A railroad connects it with the SNCF train network to transport hundreds of millions of cans and bottles every year to Marseille for export.

During the last year, attention has focused on a new brand: Maison Perrier. These energy and flavored drinks are having great success in France and throughout the world.

The advantage for Perrier is that the new drinks do not proclaim “natural mineral water.” They can be treated and filtered without difficulty.

Perrier states that the new brand is part of its strategy and that it has no intention of abandoning its original natural mineral water, Source Perrier. He has already abandoned ultrafine microfiltration (0.2 microns) and now uses a system of 0.45 microns agreed with the government.

The company requested the “natural mineral water” certification only for two of the five drilling wells used for Perrier mineral water. A judicial decision is expected at the end of this year.

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