France’s system for monitoring bottled water has serious flaws, according to an audit published on Wednesday by the European Commission.
The procedure was initiated by Brussels following press reports in January of potential violations in the natural mineral water sector, leading to a ten-day mission in March.
France has a control system for natural mineral waters and spring waters, equipped with adequate testing procedures and laboratory capacities. However, the audit finds that the system overall does not effectively ensure that natural mineral waters on the market comply with current legal requirements.
It finds that the system, as it stands, is not designed to detect or mitigate fraud in the mineral and spring water sector, nor is it properly implemented, which potentially allows non-compliant and potentially fraudulent products to be on the market.
Furthermore, the audit criticises the lack of targeted inspections at high-risk sites and the absence of frequent checks. It also reports “inadequate collaboration" between and among the competent authorities.
Another shortcoming identified by the probe is a clear “absence of immediate follow-up measures” to ensure that operators correct non-compliance issues such as the use of prohibited treatments, or to avoid the marketing of wrongly classified mineral waters.
