STRASBOURG, France: Nestle’s water subsidiary, which produces brands such as Perrier, will pay 2 million euros ($2.2 million) to close French probes over illegal wells and treatment of mineral water, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The prosecutor in the eastern town of Epinal, Frederic Nahon, said the non-prosecution agreement was the “biggest concerning the environment signed in France to date.”
The deal ends preliminary probes into the use of wells without authorization and fraud for filtering its mineral waters — a practice that is illegal in France where mineral waters are supposed to be natural.
The Swiss group, whose water brands also include Vittel and San Pellegrino, will in addition spend 1.1 million euros over two years on projects to restore the environment in several French towns where it operates.
The prosecutor said the non-prosecution agreement was justified as Nestle had cooperated with the probe, had brought its practices into compliance and there were no public health consequences.
The deal, “while sanctioning the unauthorized activities that were found, encourages a faster conclusion, remediation of the environmental damage and compensation of several parties,” he said.
A local environmental group welcomed the deal but consumer groups criticized it.
“It’s a scandalous decision which sends a very bad message about a climate of impunity: Nestle Waters can deceive consumers around the world for years and get away with it by pulling out its checkbook,” said Ingrid Kragl, a fraud expert at Foodwatch.
Nestle to pay $2.2 million to close France water probes
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Nestle to pay $2.2 million to close France water probes
- The deal ends preliminary probes into the use of wells without authorization and fraud for filtering its mineral waters
- The non-prosecution agreement was justified as Nestle had cooperated with the probe
20 nations back Somalia sovereignty, condemn Israeli FM visit to Somaliland as illegal: joint statement
RIYADH: More than twenty nations have reaffirmed Somalia’s sovereignty and denounced the recent visit of Israel’s foreign minister to Somaliland, a separatist region of Somalia, according to a joint statement issued early on Friday.
The nations dismissed Israel’s recognition of Somaliland as an independent state, reaffirmed Somalia’s territorial integrity, and urged Israel to revoke its recognition of Somaliland immediately.
The 21 nations are Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Comoros, Djabouti, Egypt, The Gambia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Maldives, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Somalia, Sudan, and Turkiye. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an international body representing most Muslim-majority nations, also endorsed the statement.
The nations condemned Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visit to Somaliland on Tuesday, days after Israel became the only country to formally recognize the break-away region of Somalia.
The statement said that encouraging “secessionist agendas are unacceptable and risk exacerbating tensions in an already fragile region” and praised Somalia’s commitment to peaceful international engagement and adherence to international law.
On Tuesday Saar wrote on X: “We are determined to vigorously advance relations between Israel and Somaliland,” alongside images of him meeting the Somaliland leader at the presidential palace.
Saar said Somaliland’s president, Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, had accepted an invitation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make an official visit to Israel.
Somaliland has denied recognition allows for Israel to establish military bases there or for the resettlement of Palestinians from Gaza. Israel has advocated for what Israeli officials describe as voluntary Palestinian migration from Gaza.
* With Reuters
