Five guiding principles

Food safety is the fruit of an ever stronger requirement and shared by all the players involved in the food chain, from farmers through to distributors. It is expressed on a national level as well as on a European level through the development of regulations, reinforcement of checks, the ever-improving organisation of surveillance with ever more precise analytical tools.

Five major principles guide the policy on the safety of food in France:

Producers, processors and distributors (operators) have the first responsibility

The adaptation of regulations is continuous in order to respond to scientific and technical developments in the health field.

The system of approval and monitoring of establishments is under the responsibility of public services who have the power to sanction when deemed necessary.

The national alert network and the community alert network ensure health monitoring and mobilisation in case of potential or known danger.

The community alert network system : the member countries notify the European Commission of non-conformities noted on products, be it produced in that country and exported or a product of another country and distributed on its territory. The alert network is the RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed). Each member state has a point of contact. In France, there are two : the management office for DGAL (Directorate General of Food) health alerts for animal foodstuffs and products of animal origin and the Fraud alert unit of the DGCCRF, for everything outside of animal foodstuffs. These points of contact then spread the information to the departmental management concerned and make sure that the information is raised and ensure coordination of actions.

The authorities are capable of managing the risks, particularly in urgent situations.

To control risks, the risks must first of all be known. Reliance on scientific expertise is therefore indispensable when facing a known or potential danger. It is with the risk evaluation provided by the experts that the authorities can, as the risk management officers, take the measures necessary. France believes that the separation between the management and evaluation of risks allows greater objectivity in making decisions. It has at its disposal a very high level of scientific expertise in respect of health risks, of which a part is found within AFSSA (French Agency for Food Safety), created in July 1998. In the decision-making process the government can also, for its part, take into account other dimensions of a socio-economic or cultural character, while being vigilant to ensure the consumer enjoys an optimal level of safety.