PARIS, Dec 19 (Reuters) – France’s southern Gard department has authorised Nestle to continue using two of the wells that supply its Perrier mineral water but added new conditions for production, it said on Friday.
Nestle had submitted a new request for approval in the summer after adopting a new filtration method for the bottled water.
The Gard authorities ruled that Nestle must submit within the next 12 months an additional study on the impact of the filtration on the water’s microbiome. It has also requested enhanced safety checks on the water for a two-year period, after which the company must submit a review of the water quality.
Three other wells that Nestle had stopped using will no longer be allowed to produce Perrier mineral water.
A Nestle Waters France representative did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
The brand has been under scrutiny for months since French media reported last year that Perrier and many other mineral water producers had been using illegal water treatments to prevent contamination. Nestle switched instead to microfiltration, which it says is safe and does not alter the water’s mineral composition.
Nestle withdrew a 0.2 micron microfiltration device in July after a request from local authorities, replacing it with a 0.45 micron device.
(Reporting by Dominique PattonEditing by David Goodman)
