Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law is the central foundation for food legislation in Europe and in France.
Government measures with regard to food safety take into account scientific knowledge and more particularly scientific risk assessments.
In France, for food safety, there is a clear distinction between risk assessment and risk management. Risk assessments is carried out by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) and results in scientific opinions that publicly available through publication on the ANSES website (unless prohibited by statutory provisions). In addition to assessing risks across a wide range of human, animal, plant and environmental health risks, ANSES conducts and funds research and takes part in several national schemes (vigilance schemes, surveillance networks and platforms) that enable it to detect warning signals and intervene in support of public authorities against diseases and harmful exposures.
Risk management is mainly under the authority of the Directorate General for Food (DGAL) in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty (MASA). The Directorate General for Health (DGS) in the Ministry of Labour, Health, Solidarity and Families (MTSSF) is responsible for protecting the health of the population with regard to the various uses of water. The Directorate General for Competition Policy, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) in the Ministry of Economy, Finances and industrial and digital Sovereignty (MEFSIN) is responsible for the safety of food contact materials and objects.
ANSES issues and withdraws marketing authorisations for veterinary medicinal products, plant protection products, fertilisers and biocides. It does this after assessing their effectiveness and the risks they pose to human health and ecosystems.
The ministries use risk assessments prepared by ANSES as the scientific foundation for risk management measures.
These general directorates have a dual responsibility:
- ‘political’ – through the development of regulations at the national level and also through a central administration that ensures French representation in international and European authorities.
- ‘operational’ – through decentralised services located in each region and department in France whose mission is to control the implementation of health and food regulations.
Risk communication is conducted by the ministries and by ANSES when relevant. The Codex Contact Point in France is located at the Secrétariat général des affaires européennes (General Secretariat for European Affairs), which is under the authority of the Prime Minister.
