Overview

• On July 10, DGCCRF agents searched Nestlé’s France headquarters near Paris as part of allegations that spring water was illegally filtered and sold as natural mineral water.
• Nestlé CEO Laurent Freixe admitted in April that the company used unauthorized microfiltration on water that temporarily failed to meet natural mineral water standards.
• The probe was launched in February following a complaint from Foodwatch and was flagged in a May Senate report that cited similar forbidden treatments and questioned regulatory transparency.
• Regulators have not filed formal fraud charges but are reviewing the company’s site licences, with decisions on revocation or modification expected by August 2025.
• Nestlé says it is fully cooperating with authorities and reassures German consumers that only its imported brands San Pellegrino and Acqua Panna, which are unaffected by the allegations, are sold in Germany.