Nestlé sells filtered dirty water as "natural mineral"

Nestlé filters contaminated water using prohibited methods and sells it as "natural mineral water," Bild in Russian writes.

In recent months, media investigations have revealed that mineral water sources in France were contaminated with faeces, Escherichia coli bacteria and pesticides, among other things. Companies such as Nestlé illegally filtered the water and continued to sell it as "natural mineral water," the newspaper notes.

The amount of fraud over the past 15 years has amounted to 3 billion euros, the independent research platform Mediapart reported. The consumer organization Foodwatch calls on the French authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. In February of this year, consumer advocates have already filed a lawsuit against Nestlé and the French producer of mineral water Sources Alma (founded in 1954, 45 production sites in Europe).

"Nestlé has obviously been selling billions of bottles of water for decades that had nothing to do with 'natural mineral water': in France, Europe and even around the world, and consumers were completely unaware," says Ingrid Kragl of Foodwatch France.

Next week, the European Commission plans to publish a report on the investigation of the actions of the French authorities in this case.

A Nestlé representative said he disagreed with Mediapart's "figures and calculation method."