Who does what? Who checks what?

In France, the government guarantees a high level of consumer protection. This is why, beyond its power of regulation, the State ensures a large monitoring mission across the different services of the three ministries concerned with agriculture, health and consumption. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing is the pilot ministry in respect of food safety and the Directorate General of Food, the relevant management.

The coordination and collaboration between the French ministries spreads out in a similar way between the different locally present departmental administrations, under the aegis of prefects. For greater efficacity, the command chain is short between central administration, the decision maker and the departments, the executants.

Nearly 8000 public agents participate in France in the guarding of safety in the food sector. Large human resources are dedicated to inspections and checks. The French territory has available for its use a network of laboratories that allow extensive analysis in the veterinary field: 12 national leading laboratories and a public analysis laboratory in each of the 100 French departments.

The French system, in the same way as all the countries that export to the European Union, regularly submits to external audits organised under the aegis of the European Commission and led by the Food and Veterinary Office (OAV). This office monitors respect for the European regulations with regard to the hygiene of foodstuffs particularly for the European Union and for other foreign countries, called third countries.

The AFSSA, French agency for Ftood safety

This is a public establishment under the guardianship of the ministries in charge of health, agriculture and consumption. The AFSSA evaluates the nutritional and health risks of foods destined for human or animal consumption. It has a monitoring and alert role, plus a duty of information and transparency. It encompasses a research function and scientific and technical support to the authorities.

950 people of which 650 are distributed in 12 research laboratories.

The InVS, The National Institute for monitoring of health

This is a public establishment of the State set up in March 1999 within the framework of a strengthening of food safety and situated under the guardianship of the ministry in charge of health. The InVS dedicates itself to health vigilance and the observation of the health of the population and its development. It is responsible for alerting the authorities and to provide them with recommendations in the case of threat for public health.

253 people at the InVS rely on 13 interregional epidemiology units set up in the territory.

The DGAL, Directorate General for Food (Ministry of Agriculture and Fishing)

The DGAL exercises the competences of its ministry relating to the health of plants and animals and the monitoring of health and safety of agricultural and food products. The DGAL's field of competences is centred around hygiene, the organisation of quality systems, animal and plant health and, more generally, food health and safety.

200 people in central administration

4400 agents spread out in the 100 management departments of veterinary services (DDSV) and the 22 regional services for the protection of plants within the regional managements of agriculture and forestry.

The DGCCRF, Directorate General for Competition and Repression of Fraud (Ministry of Economy and Finance)

The DGCCRF, exercises a role in the market by ensuring open and honest competition and to protect consumers in their daily life. Its field of action is centred on safety, honesty and quality of all consumer goods (composition, added substances, authorised treatments, labelling, marketing practice etc) and services. Food represents a part of its activities.

4100 agents serve the monitoring authority of the markets of which 2000 investigators are spread out throughout the whole of the territory between a central administration and 100 department managements (remove the end of the phrase).

The DGS, Directorate General for Health (Ministry of Health)

The DGS intervenes in all the areas which deal with public health and health and safety linked to food and, in particular, water destined for human consumption. It carries out certain checks relative to drinking water and subsequent enquiries in the case of human food poisoning.

See the illustration