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Illegally treated mineral waters: “Special Envoy” goes back to the source of the scandal
Illegally treated mineral waters: “Special Envoy” goes back to the source of the scandal
(SPECIAL SUBJECT / FRANCE 2)
The mineral water giants thought their little secrets were well-kept… But at the end of 2020, an employee from Saint-Yorre, in Auvergne, threw a stone into the pond, splashing the entire sector. This extract from “Special Envoy” goes back to the source of a scandal which continues to cause a stir.
For water to be classified as mineral water, it must have a constant chemical composition and not be overly filtered, treated or disinfected, and it must be bottled pure. Several water giants, however, deviated from these very strict principles, believing their little secrets were well-kept… This meant counting without a whistleblower whose testimony is reproduced in this extract from “Special Envoy”.
This technician at the filtration center in Saint-Yorre, in Auvergne, says he noticed questionable practices, from the moment he arrived, in 2015, until 2020. Few people were informed of this, according to him: “The subject was very taboo in the company.”
“We injected iron sulfate. There were also carbon filters to remove any hydrocarbon residue, and purify the water in an illegal way. It was a well-concealed, top secret thing.”
A technician from the Saint-Yorre filtration center,quoted in “Special Envoy”
He claims to have, for five years, witnessed a system which, according to him, resembles organized deception. The iron sulfate injections would only have stopped, he said, if there was control from the Regional Health Agency (ARS). He then, still according to his statements, received a call (voice, he specifies, no email that could have been traced) and he was told “Unplug the hose, we’re going to be checked.”
“Everything is deception, from A to Z. They are deceiving all the way. Anyway, their slogan was ‘Money, money, money’. What I really want is for them to be judged and condemned for their practices, that they answer before the courts.”
The Alma group, which owns the Saint-Yorre brand, affirms for its part that none of the water bottled by Source Alma is affected by bacteriological contamination problems.
The revelations of this technician trigger a vast investigation by the Fraud Repression in all companies in the sector. In July 2022, a report from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) is handed over in the greatest secrecy to the government. But the affair was revealed on the investigation site Mediacités in November of that same year. It’s a bomb… We discover that at least 30% of water brands are subject to treatments that do not comply with regulations – a figure that is probably underestimated, the report specifies.
One group is particularly blamed: Nestlé Waters. The world leader in bottled water used “non-compliant treatments. A use of activated carbon and ultraviolet which is absolutely prohibited and leaves no room for interpretation”, according to the terms of the report. Clearly, some manufacturers made people believe that their water was naturally pure, even though it was treated to be disinfected…
Excerpt from “Mineral water in troubled waters”, an investigation to seeyears “Special Envoy” on September 26, 2024.
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