Customers angry after learning Poland Spring doesn't come from a spring

Nestle is in hot water for false advertisement of their bottled water brand Poland Spring Water, which prosecutors claim is not sourced from a spring.

Nestle, which is the world's biggest packaged foods company, made $8.2 billion from its Poland Spring brand past year.

"To illicitly capture that premium, Defendant, since it began selling the Poland Spring brand in 1993, has bottled common groundwater and illegally mislabeled it as '100% Natural Spring Water, '" it added.

It also alleges water in Poland Spring-labeled bottles isn't "collected from pristine mountain or forest springs as the images on those labels depict".

A spokeswoman for Nestle Water North America denied the class action claim as "an obvious attempt to manipulate the legal system for personal gain", Courthouse News reports.

He said Poland Spring is using "phony, man-made" springs, but a spokesperson for parent-company Nestle Waters North America, said their water meets US FDA regulations defining spring water, and all state and federal standards.

Nestle stock traded flat early Friday afternoon.

It also claims that the real Poland Spring "ran dry almost 50 years ago" and that Nestle is "feigning" compliance with the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) with "phony, manmade 'springs"'. According to the suit, the 11 people spent thousands of dollars on Poland Spring in the past few years and are seeking $5 million in damages for a national class. "Yet there is no photographic proof that even one such spring - much less eight - exists on or near defendant's sites in Maine". It also sells purified drinking water brand Nestle Pure Life.

Poland Spring hopes to pump up to 172 million gallons of water a year from a public water district well that once served a now-closed paper mill.

If such a spring did exit, it certainly wouldn't produce 1 billion gallons of Poland Spring water bottled each year, say the plaintiffs, who also accuse Nestle of faking springs "by causing well water to flow artificially through pipes or plastic tubes into wetlands". The water originally came from Poland Spring, but now the company draws its water from sources throughout the state, including in Hollis and Fryeburg. The company did not agree with the claims, but paid $10 million in discounts and contributions to charity.

The lawsuit comes as the Stamford, Connecticut-based company embarks on an expansion in ME, as well as during rising USA demand for bottled water.