The company failed to notify health authorities within the required timeframe, taking ten days to report the pathogen detection as mandated by public health regulations.

As a consequence of the contamination, the complete destruction of the affected stock is being considered.

Nestlé, the parent company, maintains that all products released to the market are safe and describes the situation as part of 'internal quality management measures,' despite the delayed notification to health authorities.

Numerous administrative reports indicate that the water resources used by Nestlé in Gard have not been pure for years, raising concerns about their suitability for bottling as 'natural mineral water.'

The Agence régionale de santé (ARS) has requested the prefecture to revoke Perrier's designation as 'natural mineral water' following new bacterial contamination findings at its Gard factory.

Pathogenic enterobacteria were detected in 75 centiliter bottles at Perrier's Vergèze factory, leading to the halting of one production line and the blocking of approximately 300,000 bottles.

The ARS was informed of the contamination on March 11, 2025, ten days after it was initially detected.

This contamination issue follows previous revelations from January 2024, which exposed misleading practices by Nestlé regarding water treatment.

Local officials are worried about the future of the Vergèze site, which employs 1,000 people, and have urged the prefect to make a decision regarding the site's operational authorization.

The director general of ARS Occitanie has recommended that production of natural mineral water at Vergèze be prohibited altogether, which could threaten the future of the Perrier brand.

Hundreds of thousands of additional 50 centiliter bottles are also blocked due to excessive levels of viable germs.

In April 2024, Nestlé had to destroy 3 million bottles due to a previous contamination episode involving fecal bacteria.