Insufficient Water Quality at Perrier Plant in France Raises Concerns
The quality of water resources exploited at the Perrier plant in Vergèze, Gard, southern France, is still not sufficient to produce natural mineral water, according to a report by the Occitanie Regional Health Agency (ARS) dated August 30, 2024, and revealed on Monday, December 16, by French daily Le Monde and the investigative unit of Radio France.
For the first time, a halt in natural mineral water production at the Vergèze site is being considered. This comes after revelations about the use of banned treatments on Nestlé's Hépar, Vittel, Contrex, and Perrier brands. Despite assurances from Nestlé Waters that all illegal treatments had been eliminated and transformation plans were in place to stop fraud, the company claimed that the sanitary safety of its products had always been guaranteed.
Recall that in 2021, Nestlé sold its regional spring water brands in North America to investment funds. In 2023, following another scandal in France that tarnished its Buitoni brand, Nestlé founded a company with a fund for its European frozen pizzas.
To try to restore its reputation, the group plans to increase its advertising and marketing investments by nearly 10% by the end of 2025. However, investors remain unconvinced, as Nestlé's stock lost 2% on the Swiss stock exchange on Tuesday, November 19.
