French fraud investigators searched Nestlé’s headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux on 10 July as part of a widening probe into whether the Swiss group illegally filtered and sold its mineral waters, including Perrier, Vittel, Contrex and Hépar. Officers from the Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) and the police unit OCLAESP seized documents and electronic data. The operation was ordered under a judicial investigation opened in February by the Paris public-health court after a criminal complaint from the consumer group Foodwatch alleging food fraud. Authorities are examining whether Nestlé Waters used treatments barred for products marketed as “natural mineral water” and misled consumers about water quality. The raid came a week after Nestlé Waters said it had replaced a 0.2-micron microfiltration system at its Perrier plant that regulators deemed non-compliant. Although the company says the new 0.45-micron filters bring production back into line with French rules, health agencies continue to review whether the process alters the water’s microbiological profile, a prerequisite for retaining mineral-water status. Nestlé, which was fined last year over the issue, said it is cooperating fully with investigators.