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Emballages Alimentaires
25/02/2015 —
News

Food packaging: reheating at exceedingly high temperatures increases the risk of substance migration

Changing dietary behaviour and consumption patterns have prompted industry to offer innovative solutions in the field of food packaging, in particular linked with nomadic lifestyles, the convenience of packaging or its environmental impact. In the framework of a research & development partnership agreement with the French National Consumer Institute, ANSES carried out a comparative study on food packaging that can be heated in conventional ovens, microwave ovens or by steam. The results of this study show that while the migration of substances from the packaging to the food is generally low and below the regulatory values, it can increase significantly in the case of non-compliance with instructions for reheating. To limit these risks of migration, ANSES therefore recommends carefully following the manufacturers' instructions in this regard.
11/02/2015 —
News

Drafting guides to good hygiene practice: new tools for professionals available on-line

Guides to good hygiene practice (GGHP) and the application of HACCP (1) principles are drafted to help agrifood professionals control the safety of the products they manufacture and to help them comply with regulatory obligations. These reference documents are written by the various professional branches for the industry players in their sector. To help them create these guides, ANSES provides technical support in the form of descriptive fact sheets on foodborne biological hazards. A dedicated area has also been created on the Agency’s website to provide short, informative "tools" fact sheets to help with the drafting of GGHP guides.
03/02/2015 —
News

ANSES and its Chinese counterpart sign a cooperation agreement to promote convergence in food safety standards and monitoring methods

In the framework of French Prime Minister Manuel Valls's official visit to China, ANSES Director General Marc Mortureux signed a cooperation agreement with the Agency's Chinese counterpart, the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA). The cooperation programmes will mainly involve the training of experts and technicians in food analysis and monitoring methods, both in the area of microbiology and chemistry; the comparison of the standards in force in Europe and in China, in the context of their current revision by the CFSA; and risk assessment methodologies.
Pesticides Maison
29/01/2015 —
News

ANSES launches its Pesti’home study of domestic pesticide use in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion Island

On 6 February 2015, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) will launch its Pesti'home study, conducted by the French Observatory for Pesticide Residues (ORP), in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion Island. The aim of this study, which covers the entire country, is to gain better understanding of domestic uses of products designed to eliminate pests in and around the home. It is the first study on this topic and its results will help better assess exposure of the French population to pesticides.
Bisphenols
21/01/2015 —
News

Bisphenol A: EFSA recommends lowering the Total Daily Intake (TDI) while considering that current exposure levels are without risk for human health

In 2014, following its large-scale study, EFSA submitted for consultation an interim report on the health risks of bisphenol A (BPA). ANSES contributed to the consultation by emphasising the extensive work conducted by the European authority while pointing out certain divergences in the evaluation of how uncertainties were accounted for, as well as differences of interpretation in the analysis of available studies. Today, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published the results of its work, recommending a significant reduction in the Total Daily Intake (TDI) of bisphenol A, while indicating that the current exposure levels to bisphenol A are too low to pose any risk to human health. In addition, while evaluation differences still exist in this report, EFSA and ANSES continue to pursue their collaboration on this topic, and new studies will soon be issued on the effects of low doses of BPA on health.
Aspartame
09/01/2015 —
News

No nutritional value found for intense sweeteners in the human diet

Aspartame, stevia extracts, sucralose and acesulfame K... Intense sweeteners are a group of calorie-free food additives with a very high sweetening power. While the safety of intense sweetener use has regularly undergone in-depth assessment, this ANSES assessment is the first that evaluates the nutritional value of these sweeteners. This ground-breaking work found that the consumption of these substances had no beneficial effects on weight control, blood glucose levels in diabetics or on the incidence of type 2 diabetes. It also showed that there were no links between their consumption and habituation to sweet tastes, or with a heightened risk of diabetes or cancer. Based on this, the Agency considers that no convincing reasons exist to justify encouraging the replacement of sugars by intense sweeteners in the framework of public health policy.
Technologie
06/11/2014 —
News

3D technologies and eyesight: use not recommended for children under the age of six, use in moderation for those under the age of 13

In view of the rapid development of new stereoscopic audiovisual technologies in 3D (3Ds, commonly referred to as 3D), ANSES issued an internal request to assess the potential health risks related to the use of these technologies, especially on human eyesight. In the study published today, the Agency recommends that children under the age of six, whose visual system is immature, should not be exposed to these technologies and that their use by children under the age of 13 should be moderate. It also provides a series of practical recommendations to reduce the risk of visual fatigue that can be caused by these technologies. However, given the lack of available data on exposure to these technologies, the Agency considers it necessary to conduct further research.
Antibiotiques Vétérinaire
04/11/2014 —
News

Antimicrobials for veterinary use: lower levels of use and resistance are confirmed, but efforts must continue

Antimicrobial resistance is a major public health issue, for both human and veterinary medicine. In France, many measures have been taken to promote the rational use of antimicrobials. For instance, in 1999, the French Agency for Veterinary Medicinal Products (ANSES-ANMV) began monitoring sales of veterinary antimicrobials. Today, as part of its half-day devoted to antimicrobial resistance in animal health, ANSES is publishing the annual report on sales of veterinary antimicrobials in France in 2013, and the 2013 report of the French surveillance Network for Antimicrobial Resistance in Pathogenic Bacteria of Animal Origin (RESAPATH) coordinated by its Lyon and Ploufragan laboratories. For the first time, the level of exposure to antimicrobials was lower than that of 1999, while at the same time, a decline in resistance to critical antimicrobials in most animal production sectors is to be noted. However, efforts must continue, and in particular, increases in the use of critical antimicrobials in certain animal species, especially domestic carnivores (dogs and cats) should be monitored closely. It also seems necessary to obtain more precise data on the use of antimicrobials by species and animal category.
Protection
24/10/2014 —
News

Personal protective equipment for applicators of plant protection products: ANSES's findings and recommendations

As part of the process of issuing marketing authorisation for plant protection products (Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009), ANSES systematically assesses the risk associated with the use of these products. According to the general principles of the French Labour Code, the priority preventive measures are to remove the hazard at the source or to find alternatives for hazardous products (in particular carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic – CMR – products). When possible, this should be followed by the use of collective preventive measures and adaptation of the work station. However, sometimes the risk is only acceptable when the above measures are supplemented by the wearing of work clothing and/or personal protective equipment (PPE). The Opinion that ANSES is publishing today concerns the effectiveness of work clothing and PPE worn by applicators of plant protection products. PPE offering high levels of performance is available. However, this is not always worn, mainly because it is uncomfortable and because of constraints inherent to the work activity. Accordingly, in the Opinion being published today, the Agency proposes a series of recommendations on best practice in the prevention of risks associated with exposure to plant protection products.

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