Nestle's mineral water subsidiary, which makes brands such as Perrier, will pay 2 million euros to end French investigations into illegal mineral water drilling and processing, prosecutors said.
The prosecutor of the eastern city of Epinal, Frédéric Nahon, said the non-prosecution agreement was "the largest environmental agreement signed in France to date".
The deal ends preliminary investigations into the use of wells without permission and fraud in the filtration of mineral water, a practice that is illegal in France, where mineral water must be natural.
The Swiss group, whose water brands also include Vittel and San Pellegrino, will also spend 1.1 million euros over two years on environmental restoration projects in several French cities where it operates.
The prosecutor said the plea agreement was justified because Nestle had cooperated with the investigation, brought its practices into compliance and had no public health implications.
The agreement, "while penalizing identified unauthorized activities, promotes faster closure, restoration of environmental damage and compensation to several parties," he said.
A local environmental group welcomed the deal, but consumer groups criticized it.
"This is an outrageous decision that sends a very bad message about the climate of impunity: Nestlé Waters can cheat consumers around the world for years and get away with pulling out its chequebook," said Ingrid Kragle, fraud expert at Foodwatch . | BGNES
