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Qualité Air Intérieur
15/09/2015 —
News

Indoor air quality: ANSES provides support for the labelling of furnishing products

Air quality has been a subject of concern for many years and has now become a major public health issue. After major studies on outdoor air, ANSES has become highly involved in the quality of indoor air as well. Among the risks linked to pollutants in these environments, construction materials, interior decoration products and furnishing products are regularly cited as sources of pollution due to their emission of volatile and of semi-volatile pollutants. Since 2013, the labelling of construction materials and interior decoration products sold in France has been mandatory and the 3rd French Environment & Health Action Plan provides for the extension of this measure to furnishing products. In this context, ANSES was asked by the Ministries in charge of health and the ecology to identify and establish a list of chemicals that are of primary importance. Today ANSES published the list of 31 substances it considers as having first priority, in order to support the public authorities in the future implementation of furnishing product labelling with regard to volatile pollutants.
Enceinte Ferroviaire
10/09/2015 —
News

Air pollution in underground railway areas and health risks for workers

Air quality in underground railway areas has been a subject of concern for a number of years. Due to the air pollution that has been found in underground railway areas and the amount of time that workers spend there during their work hours, questions have been raised regarding the long-term health risks to workers linked to the air pollutants found in these zones. For this reason, ANSES was asked by the Ministries for health, labour and the environment to examine the issue. The findings of the report published today on the health risks of fine particles for different types of workers whose activities take place in these areas, have led the Agency to recommend continuing to implement measures for the prevention and reduction of exposure to pollutants in the air. In addition, the Agency recommends that research work be conducted on the specific long-term toxicity of particles present in the air of underground railway areas.
Composition Nutritionnelle
22/07/2015 —
News

No significant difference in the nutritional composition between best-value, own-brand and national-brand products

OQALI, jointly managed by ANSES and INRA, collects the nutritional information found on the packaging of processed foods. With over 35 000 items listed, almost all of the food industry sectors are now covered. Several reports have been published today, including a study characterising the nutritional quality of the food offer. The study found that “budget”-type products ("entry-level" and "hard-discount" own brands) do not appear to be of inferior nutritional quality. The study also shows that entry-level own brands provide a smaller range of products than the other market segments. Furthermore, own-brand products tend to provide a wider range of nutritional information on their packaging.
Ibuprofène
15/07/2015 —
News

Ketoprofen and ibuprofen: no health risk due to their presence in water for human consumption

The presence of drug residues in water has been a key subject for both the health authorities and the scientific community for a number of years. ANSES has been working on this topic since 2006, and in 2013 it proposed a general method for assessing the health risks of drug residues in water intended for human consumption. After having applied this method to a drug for human use frequently found in water (carbamazepine) and to three veterinary antibiotics (danofloxacin, tylosin and florfenicol), the Agency used the method to assess the risks linked to the presence in drinking water of ketoprofen and ibuprofen, two nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs used in France. ANSES is publishing its opinion today, in which it concludes that there are no health risks linked to the presence of ketoprofen or ibuprofen in water intended for human consumption at the concentrations found in France.
Poissons
15/07/2015 —
News

ANSES and the Nord-Pas de Calais regional council sign a memorandum of cooperation

For the Fête de la Mer ("Sea Days Celebration"), ANSES and the Nord-Pas de Calais regional council signed a memorandum of cooperation on 10 July 2015 before the Mayor of Boulogne-sur-Mer, also a member of the French Parliament. The aim of this memorandum is to pool resources to develop research in the field of food safety and seafood quality in the Nord-Pas de Calais region.
Plantes
01/07/2015 —
News

New missions for ANSES relating to plant protection products, fertilisers and growing media

Since 2010, ANSES has been carrying out its risk assessment, reference and research missions in the areas of human, animal and plant health guided by two essential principles: rigour and independence of its scientific expertise; transparency and openness, respecting the role of each party. The Agency has now been entrusted with new missions: the management of marketing authorisations for plant protection products, fertilisers, growing media and adjuvants, as well as the establishment of a "phytopharmacovigilance" scheme to monitor the effects of these products on human health, animal and plant life, and the environment. Today it is presenting the organisational structures it has set up to ensure that the broadening of its missions will provide new ways to contribute to better protection of health and the environment, while preserving its current values (an integrative approach to risks, independence, transparency and openness to society), which are the basis of its credibility and usefulness to citizens.
Fièvre Aphteuse
17/06/2015 —
News

ANSES is appointed OIE reference laboratory for foot and mouth disease

On 3 June, ANSES was appointed reference laboratory of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) for foot and mouth disease, a major disease that, due to the direct losses it can engender, requires increased vigilance by health authorities. OIE reference laboratories are appointed to monitor the full range of scientific and technical issues surrounding a specific illness or topic. This 17th international reference mandate is recognition of the quality of the Agency's work and its commitment to animal health.
Radiofréquences
09/06/2015 —
News

Exposure of children to radiofrequency waves: ANSES launches a public consultation

Today ANSES launches a public consultation of its pre-final report on the assessment of health risks for children associated with exposure to radiofrequency waves. Members of the scientific community and interested stakeholders are invited to provide their comments on the report through an on-line public consultation which will be open through 20 July 2015. The objective is to gather additional scientific comments and data that can be taken into account in the final version of the expert assessment report.
Etiquettage
02/06/2015 —
News

Nutritional labelling: ANSES assesses the feasibility of implementing Rayner's score

At the request of the Minister of social affairs and health, Professor Serge Hercberg submitted a report in January 2014 that recommends France-wide implementation of a nutritional information programme based on the Rayner's score system developed for the UK's Food Standards Agency. This information programme aims to provide consumers with information that will enable them to choose between food products based on their nutritional qualities. ANSES was asked by the Directorate General for Health (DGS) to assess the technical feasibility of deploying the proposed tool. In the report published today, ANSES concludes that implementation of the nutritional score, as defined by Rayner et al. (2005), appears to be technically feasible but would require supplementary data in addition to the data whose labelling will become mandatory in 2016 under the EU regulatory framework. ANSES also indicates that while the nutritional score seems able to effectively compare a large number of food groups, it does not do so sufficiently for certain other groups (non-alcoholic soft drinks, fats, cheeses, fruit purées, chocolates and chocolate-based products, etc.). Lastly, the Agency emphasises that its work did not aim to evaluate the relevance of using this tool for nutritional labelling, nor its capacity to inform the consumer, to induce changes in behaviour or in the food offer, or its overall relevance with regard to public health.

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