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The organization of food safety in France
OBJECTIF NUTRITION N°60 (February 2002)
Dr Dominique BAELDE
Nutrition Division DGCCRF

The emergence of new risks and new consumer requirements have encouraged the public authorities, in cooperation with scientific authorities, to develop regulations ensuring food safety. Evolving with the advances in knowledge and innovations on the market, this new "food safety law" will only gain acceptance through a commitment by both industry professionals and consumer vigilance.

The objective of food product regulation is to ensure safety of use and reliable information for consumers. It results from a risk evaluation by scientific authorities with the risk management being carried out by political powers and public authorities.
Persons responsible for the marketing of any food product must make certain that it complies with regulations in force and that it does not infringe on consumer safety.
Regulatory texts stipulate necessary procedures of evaluation. Several entities, French and European ones (European Community), constantly manage food safety.

(FOCUS) : Food Safety on the Internet

AFSSA : www.afssa.fr
DGCCRF : www.finances.gouv.fr
European Commission : http://europa.eu.int


The Entities which manage Food Safety in France:

French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) : the authority for national scientific evaluation General Directorate of Competition, Consumer Affairs and Prosecution of Fraud (DGCCRF) : a government department through which applications for evaluation, submitted by industry professionals, pass. Furthermore, its services are in charge of verification of food products and participate in the development of French and Community regulation texts and laws on food safety.


REGULATORY OBLIGATIONS

Food safety law, which is highly prescriptive in nature, is armed with a legal penal system. It covers all operations performed by industry professionals from the basic starting material up to the finished product delivered to the consumer.

All food stuffs are subject to the general conditions of the Consumer Code in terms of the obligation for compliance (article L. 212-1), safety (article L. 221-1) and non-false advertising (Articles L.121-1 and following) as well as general conditions concerning safety (Articles L 221-2 to L 223-2), fraud and falsification (Articles L 213-1 and L 213-3).
Furthermore foods are subject to laws concerning a common set of problems, such as for example: incorporation of chemical substances (additives for technological purposes, nutrient substances, sweeteners...), a food, ingredient, or manufacturing processes which are not conventional in Europe. Indeed, the Legislature considers that the only manner to ensure the consumer safety is to make compulsory the toxicological and nutritional evaluation of these items. When the former do not pose any problem, they are authorized by regulatory channels registered in a so-called " positive " list. On the contrary, use of all others is banned.

SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION

Food safety law is based on updated and consensual scientific knowledge in the fields of toxicology, biochemistry, microbiology, nutrition….
Being important and varied, the needs for scientific evaluation can be anticipated by the regulatory procedures themselves. This is the case in the development of technical rules and regulations (for example definition of the composition of baby milk formulas) and for authorization of the use of chemical substances in foods, and non-conventional foods or ingredients.
The occurrence of new hazards for public health, such as Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), requires an evaluation of risk to enlighten the public authorities on actions to be taken to protect the population.
In France, Law n° 98-535 dated July 1, 1998 relating to the reinforcement of health surveillance and the monitoring of product health safety for human use, in particular, has reorganized scientific evaluation regarding the food chain. To do this, it created the French Agency for Health Safety of Foods (AFSSA), which has been operational since March 1999. AFFSSA's field of expertise encompasses the evaluation of risks for the entire food and agricultural chain from production to the finished product, including animal feed and health as well as drinking water (tap water and bottled waters). Divided into 10 committees, the experts in charge of scientific evaluation, i.e., doctors, researchers, veterinarians, continue their professional activity in addition.

ORGANIZATION OF INSTITUTIONS

The political authority and public opinion want a separation to exist between the authorities in charge of evaluation of risk and scientific expert reports on topics of public health on the one hand and on the other hand, the authorities in charge of risk management i.e., of political decision-making and its expression into rules and regulations.
It is for this purpose that the Agencies for evaluation in the field of food safety have been created in Europe, while up until then, specialized committees of experts were placed under the aegis of the parent body.
The different governmental departments involved in regulation on food stuffs (the DGCCRF for the Ministry of Economy, Finances and Industry, the General Direction of Agriculture for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing and the General Directorate of Health for the Minister in charge of Health) or consumer organizations can refer to the AFSSA (food safety agency). The AFSSA equally possesses the capacity to act on its own motion on all topics which fall under its field of expertise. Governmental departments refer directly to the AFSSA on major questions of public health: bovine spongiform encephalopathy, maritime oil spills and the impact on fish and shellfish, dioxin…
The DGCCRF is in charge of the verification of the compliance of food stuffs with regulations in force. Its services receive applications for authorization of use submitted by industry professionals and forward them to the AFSSA for decision. According to the latter, the DGCCRF undertakes those actions which are called for after notification of the relevant industry professionals of its decision : a new authorization for use set by regulatory channels, notification to the European Commission of these new conditions, lawsuits, withdrawal of products from the market…
The National Council of Health Safety, which reports directly to the Prime Minister, consists of all the scientific evaluation and government department representatives concerned and ensures the coordination of actions.
Connections between the French and EU authorities

1. The services of the DGCCRF pilot the development of rules and regulations in a large number of food stuffs from a national and community standpoint. They participate in the deliberations for negotiation of community rules and regulations. In the context of procedures stipulated by community regulations concerning the evaluation of new foods, new ingredients and new manufacturing processes, the AFSSA is called on to examine applications in liaison with community scientific evaluation authorities. There is no doubt that with the future European Food Safety Authority, the opportunities for such exchanges will increase.

2. The departments of the European Commission submit their requests for decision on topics regarding public health or on applications for authorization for use of chemical substances or new food ingredients or manufacturing processes (for example, genetically modified organisms) to the community scientific evaluation authorities (see below). When regulation in a specific field has been the subject of harmonization and thus when it is shared by all the Member States, very often procedures exist which stipulate the methods for consulting the national scientific committees.

3. In the European Commission, the scientific evaluation of foods depends on the Scientific Steering Committee. It coordinates the operation of several scientific committees including the Scientific Committee on Human Food. In 2002, the work of these committees is to be transferred to a European Food Safety Authority. Relations between this future European Agency and the national agencies remain to be defined. The decisions of the evaluation authorities are promptly published on their Internet website.


CONCLUSION

Advances in scientific knowledge, market innovations, the emergence of new risks and new consumer requirements are such that regulation of food stuffs must constantly be updated.
In France, as in the departments of the European Commission, the political powers assisted by the governmental administration has the role of providing the impetus, decision-making and its expression in terms of rules and regulations.
The scientific authorities intervene in terms of evaluation, providing expertise, surveillance and initiating alerts.
Furthermore, industry professionals are increasingly committed to the approach of traceability of starting materials and ingredients incorporated in their products. However, the consumer continues to be a full participant in the management of food safety by complying with the cold chain, by taking care to verify the conditions for storage of foods and the cleanliness of his/her refrigerator and cooking utensils.

Dr Dominique BAELDE
Department of Nutrition
General Directorate of Competition,
Consumer Affairs,
and Prosecution of Fraud (DGCCRF)

References:

Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments (AFSSA).
23, Avenue du Général de Gaulle , B.P. 19 , 94701 Maisons Alfort Cedex.

Code de la Consommation. Direction des Journaux Officiels.
26, rue Desaix.75727 Paris Cedex15.

Commission Européenne.
Rue de la loi, B-1049 Bruxelles, Belgique.

Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes (DGCCRF).
59, Boulevard Vincent Auriol. 75013 Paris.
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