French government in the center of the water scandal of Perrier

The French government was at the center of a huge scandal after it became known that they covered up the illegal filter treatments of Premium water brands such as Perrier.

In a new report published by the Senate, it was found that the Swiss food giant Nestlé, which acquired the brand in the early 1990s, had used filter treatments that were not approved for “natural mineral water” products.

The revelation shows Nestlé and the lack of transparency of the French government towards local and European authorities, according to the report.

Here is what we know …

The report

The report published on Monday took place after more than 70 hearings on a six -month examination by the Senate.

The report announced that the covering in October 2021 had been addressed for the first time during a meeting about natural mineral waters.

The Senate said that the “highest levels” of the French government were aware of the filter treatments, but could not react on this matter.

According to the report of “fraud”, President Emmanuel Macron's office has also been aware of “fraud” since “at least” in 2022.

Since then, the president has denied any knowledge of the scandal.

Water treatment

Although there is no proven health risk for consumers, the senators found that they were still misleaded due to the lack of transparency.

The Guardian explains that there are strict EU regulations for the treatment of water as “natural mineral water”.

The water cannot be disinfected or treated in a way that modified its properties. These methods are usually used on tap water.

FINE

At the beginning of this year, Nestlé Waters confirmed that they had used banned filters but defended the safety of their products. They added that they were always transparent for the authorities and never put pressure on the government.

In an explanation of politico, they said that the use of treatment methods in the past was due to “sporadic bacterial or chemical contamination” caused by “faecal pollution”.

The organization paid a fine of € 2 million in order to avoid legal steps.

A complaint was submitted by Foodwatch against the company (a European advocacy group that focuses on the protection of consumer rights in terms of food quality).