French court rejects immediate Nestlé Perrier ban

Nestlé may continue to sell Perrier mineral in France for the time being Keystone-SDA

Nestlé may continue to sell Perrier in France as natural mineral water for the time being. A court in Nanterre has rejected a temporary ban on sales requested by consumer protection organisations.

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The judgement, which is available to the news agency AWP, rejected all of UFC-Que Choisir’s claims. A health risk for consumers could not be proven to the extent required for an urgent application, it was said. No “direct damage” had been proven.

The court also ordered the association to pay the costs. UFC-Que Choisir must pay €5,000 to Nestlé Waters and two subsidiaries – including the one that operates the Perrier production site in Vergèze in the Gard department.

In an urgent application, the consumer protection organisation UFC-Que Choisir wanted to prohibit Nestlé from continuing to market Perrier as “natural mineral water” due to allegedly unlawful treatment processes. The allegation was that the water had been treated using processes that contravene EU regulations. Nestlé had always stated that it had worked under supervision and that safety had never been jeopardised.

Final clarification pending

The Swiss food giant welcomed the court’s decision to reject all of UFC-Que Choisir’s claims in the case. The judgement confirmed “that the food safety of Perrier mineral water was always guaranteed and that Perrier mineral water can continue to be sold under the given circumstances,” Nestlé said in response to an AWP enquiry on Tuesday evening.

However, the decision is not a main proceeding, but an urgent decision concerning provisional measures such as a distribution stop. The final legal clarification of the admissibility of the processing procedures is still pending.

UFC-Que Choisir had filed a criminal complaint with the Nanterre public prosecutor’s office against Nestlé Waters and various parties allegedly involved in the scandal. “The complaint is still being examined,” says UFC-Que Choisir.

Significant market

The dispute is part of a larger scandal involving Nestlé Waters after the use of banned filter and UV technology became known in France in early 2024. The company paid a fine of €2 million to avoid legal proceedings. A Senate investigation later also spoke of a cover-up by government agencies.

There is a significant market behind the dispute. Perrier comes from a spring in Vergèze in the south of France between Montpellier and Nîmes, which has been tapped for over 120 years. Around 1,000 people are employed there.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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