In the French region of Occitania, a new case of contamination by bacteria was discovered in bottles of Perrier water produced at the Vergers factory. Following the identification of three confirmed cases of "non-compliance with sanitary norms", it was decided to conduct additional bacteriological studies.
According to information from Radio France Internationale, about 300 thousand bottles with a volume of 75 milliliters have been classified as "contaminated with intestinal bacteria" after an internal inspection conducted on March 11. These bottles were produced on March 10 and 11, and they were found to contain coliform bacteria as a result of tests, which may lead to the freezing of their distribution for further research.
The company in its statement also reported on a second batch of 395 pallets, a supply error of caps for which led to technical non-compliance, documented on March 22, after which official notifications were sent on April 4.
Earlier, cases of bacterial contamination were discovered on April 10 during a check by the department's health service (ARS) regarding leaks in the pipe system, which led to the isolation of another batch from 1018 pallets. Despite the recurring contamination cases, the company stated that similar cases in February and March underwent additional analyses, confirming their safety, allowing for the continued distribution of production under the decision of the health agency (ARS) and the preference of the Garde.
In connection with this incident, Perrier, which could lose its status as "natural mineral water", is subject to serious standards in France. This crisis arose in the context of long debates about whether to allow the use of cleaning agents in water brands classified as "natural mineral", regardless of their harmlessness, which caused discontent on the part of the owners and consumers.
The Paris prosecutor's office received an official statement from the agency for combating fraud "DGCCRF", which led to the initiation of a criminal investigation in accordance with Article 40 of the French Code of Criminal Procedure, which obliges the administration to inform about any activity that may potentially be criminal.
The investigative parliamentary committee, formed in November of last year to study the practices of companies packaging water, plans to make its final report public on May 19.
