Producing well-known mineral water business Perrier had to destroy 2 million bottles of the product. This was ordered by the French authorities after one of the springs was found to be contaminated.
Hundreds of pallets to be disposed of
Contamination was detected in one of the wells from which Perrier sources mineral water. It is located in the Gard region, in the south France. The owner of the company, Nestlé, confirmed that he had to destroy the entire batch of water from this source, produced between March 10 and 14. This was ordered by the regional authorities of Occitania.
According to Nestlé, “several batches of bottles” were destroyed, which is the equivalent of “several hundred pallets” of goods. According to AFP, a total of 2 million bottles of mineral water were destroyed.
The well whose operation has been suspended is located in Vergèze. Nestlé says its operations will resume “in due course, under the supervision of the authorities.”
A mysterious bacteria
Although the company did not disclose the nature of the contamination, it also assured that “all bottles on the market” are “fully safe” – reports Euronews.com.
According to Nestlé, an incident occurred in the Gard area “point microbiological deviation”which was said to have occurred after intense downpours in the region in mid-March, along with the appearance of strong Storm Monica.
You can learn more from the document of the Prefect of Gard of April 19, Jérôme Bonet, addressed to Nestlé and published by the French media. According to it, on March 10 and for the next few historic days source Vergèze was going to be polluted feces (bacteria from the group Escherichia coli) and germs of the species Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, living mainly in soil, water and on the surface of plants).
Water problems
This is another problem we have France related to the production of mineral water. In January, the local authorities launched an investigation into the reports purification methods mineral waters by Nestlé.
The company admitted that disinfects water using UV lamps, carbon filters and other methods cannot be used for “natural” mineral waters – informs AFP. In addition to Perrier, the company also has brands such as Vittel, Contrex and Hepar. Le Monde and Radio France reported at the beginning of the year that Nestlé uses purification methods reserved for tap water for mineral water.
The French Directorate General of Health (DGS) inspected several water intakes in the south and east France. As a result, some intakes were closed and water from others was deemed “fit for drinking after boiling,” AFP reported.
Source: AFP, Euronews.com, Leprogres.fr, France24
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