(Yicai) Feb. 6 -- The bottled mineral water sold by Nestlé Waters in China complies with Chinese laws and regulations, its Swiss parent company told Yicai following a media report that Nestlé’s water products sourced in France violated that country’s regulations.

After self-inspection and rectification in 2021, all of Nestlé Waters’ products have complied with French regulations, food and drinks giant Nestlé said yesterday.

French newspaper Le Monde reported on Jan. 30 that compliance became easier after the owner of the Perrier, Vittel, Hépar, and Contrex brands brought its use of activated carbon filters and ultraviolet systems in purifying water labeled as 'spring' and 'natural mineral' to the attention of the authorities, as the French government “quietly eased regulations” in response.

Before that, it was illegal to use such purification techniques as water coming from natural springs is supposed to require no treatment unlike tap water, but the report said that bottlers were using clandestine techniques due to sporadic contamination.

Chinese regulations are different as aeration, decantation, and filtration -- methods used to eliminate unstable elements in natural mineral water -- are allowed, but with stricter requirements for chemical indicators than those in France.

Except for high-end imported brands such as Perrier, Vevey-based Nestlé sold its entire water business in China to Tsingtao Brewery Group in 2020. But according to sources at Nestlé, revenue from this business in the Chinese market is relatively low.

Nestlé’s imported high-end water business in China is comparably small and has a limited impact in the local market for natural mineral water, Zhu Danpeng, deputy head of the Guangdong Food Safety Guarantee Association, said to Yicai.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine