French Food Safety Agency Research Articles

Editorial for the Special Issue AMP.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Springer for allowing us to publish in ‘‘Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins’’ part of the main conferences of the 2nd International Symposium on Antimicrobial Peptides: Food, Veterinary, Medical, and Novel Applications, which took place in Saint-Malo (France) from June 17–19, 2009. The organizers and scientific committees also wish to restate their acknowledgments for the institutions (Ecole Nationale d’Ingenieurs des Techniques des Industries Agricoles et Alimentaires, Nantes, France; and the French Agency for Food Safety, Ploufragan, France), local authorities (Regions des Pays de la Loire et de Bretagne), and industries who provided financial support. The AMP2009 symposium permitted 200 attendees from 23 countries to interact during three working days and share their experience with academic and applied research devoted to antimicrobial peptides. AMP2009 was also an excellent opportunity for young and emerging scientists to present their projects through posters, oral presentations and scientific discussions with renowned scientists. As cochairman of AMP2009 and the founder of this conference, I am so happy and proud to see the increasingly international dimension taken on by this scientific event, which clearly shows that antimicrobial peptides are still of major interest and remain a promising, open avenue of research. To date, thousands of antimicrobial peptides from prokaryotic, fungal, plant and animal sources have been identified; their potential as novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of infection, stimulation of the immune system or countering of septic shock has been widely recognized. Many peptides are now tracked in Antimicrobial Sequence Databases such as http://www.bbcm.units.it/*tossi/pag1. htm, http://aps.unmc.edu/AP/main.html, http://defensins. bii.a-star.edu.sg/, and http://faculty.ist.unomaha.edu/chen/ rapd/index.php. The development of novel antimicrobial peptides has gained widespread attention in response to the phenomenon of bacterial multi-drug resistance, which has become a public health major concern in human and veterinary medicine, as well as in food production. Indeed, as soon as antibiotics were introduced as therapies, bacteria began to resist their activity by developing mechanisms of resistance that help them to evade their toxic effects. The large amount of antibiotics used through the past decades in human and animal medications has resulted in the selection of pathogenic bacteria resistant to multiple drugs. Resistance has been observed with every antimicrobial; the only observable difference between drugs has been the time required for such resistance to emerge. The response of the scientific community and various industries to this threatening situation must be swift yet appropriate. Our knowledge is continuously updated through the discovery of novel and effective molecules, especially antimicrobial peptides, whose isolation from unexplored sources can be anticipated using smart screening technologies. The next generation of antimicrobial peptides (hybrid peptides, congener peptides, stabilized peptides, conjugated peptides and immobilized peptides) may also be designed and engineered. I truly believe that this conference will continue to attract more and more participants in the future by organizing outstanding scientific programmes and committees of the highest caliber. In closing, I am pleased to announce that the third gathering of this conference has been scheduled for June 2012. D. Drider (&) Nantes Cedex 3, France e-mail: drider@enitiaa-nantes.fr

From the Editors

From the Editors

Nutritional quality and safety of organic food. A review

Food security, nutritional quality and safety vary widely around the world. Reaching these three goals is one of the major challenges for the near future. Up to now, industrialized production methods have clearly shown severe limitations such as a worldwide contamination of the food chain and water by persistent pesticide residues, and reduced nutrient and flavor contents through low-cost intensive food production and/or processing. In line with several published literature reviews, the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA) performed under my coordination an up-to-date exhaustive and critical evaluation of the nutritional and sanitary quality of organic food. This review is based on the AFSSA report issued and recently published studies. The major points are: 1/ organic plant products contain more dry matter and minerals (Fe, Mg); and contain more anti-oxidant micronutrients such as phenols and salicylic acid, 2/ organic animal products contain more polyunsaturated fatty acids, 3/ data on carbohydrate, protein and vitamin levels are insufficiently documented, 4/ 94–100% of organic food does not contain any pesticide residues, 5/ organic vegetables contain far less nitrates, about 50% less; and 6/ organic cereals contain overall similar levels of mycotoxins as conventional ones. Thus, organic agricultural systems have already proved able to produce food with high quality standards. I propose also improvements of organic production to achieve sustainable food production for humans in the near future.

Implementation and assessment of the quality management system in research in a laboratory of the French Food Safety Agency: application to PhD student work

The approach of quality in research has rarely been described from a practical point of view. It has been decided to develop a system of management of quality in research in our laboratory to guarantee the results of the research. It is based on the requirements of standard ISO 17025 for the execution of tests associated to the research, on good laboratory practices for the description of studies and on standard ISO 10006 for all the requirements associated to the management of a project. The tools used and the role of all the participants are described here to help researchers to implement a system in their own laboratory. We are aware of the difficulties that implementing such a system pose in academia, especially with meeting the requirements of ISO 17025, but it is still achievable and even essential because research is mediatised and must therefore provide guarantees on its practices.

Evaluation of 10-years French NRL proficiency tests for lead, cadmium and mercury analysis in foodstuff of animal origin

The French National Reference Laboratory (NRL) for heavy metals in foodstuffs of animal origin at the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA) regularly organises proficiency tests schemes (PTS) focused on the quantification of the three elements lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg), for the 23 departmental laboratories of the network of laboratories, under its responsibility. The NRL prepares test materials to promote comparability of data and support harmonisation of official analytical procedures in the case of routine analysis. When target values for the analytes are set, the PTS also provide an objective assessment and improvement of the analytical trueness in the daily work of the laboratories. The long-term performance of the network was examined using results of 10 years of PTS in various matrices from different foodstuffs of animal origin (fish, meat and milk products), with 3 different official methods, using Flame- and Electro-Thermal-AAS techniques. In all cases, participants were requested to carry out 3 independent measurements of Pb, Cd and Hg. Moreover, the assessment of the PTS was based on the Z-score approach. From 1998 to 2008, this evaluation applied to 690 results obtained in 41 PTS indicated a frequency distribution of the Z-score value for the three elements Pb, Cd and Hg of 89.2%, 94.5% and 97.7% of acceptable results, respectively. The results of this balance sheet indicated the homogeneity and ability of the laboratories network to provide comparable results of similar quality. Comparison with results obtained by a primary method were presented as complementary information to determine the interest to organize, in the future, PTS based on a certified value.

Erratum to “A Risk‐Benefit Analysis of French High Fish Consumption: A QALY Approach,” by Marie‐Renée Guevel, Véronique Sirot, Jean‐Luc Volatier, and Jean‐Charles Leblanc, in Risk Analysis, 28(1), 2008

Risk AnalysisVolume 28, Issue 3 p. 801-801 Free Access Erratum to “A Risk-Benefit Analysis of French High Fish Consumption: A QALY Approach,” by Marie-Renée Guevel, Véronique Sirot, Jean-Luc Volatier, and Jean-Charles Leblanc, in Risk Analysis, 28(1), 2008 This article corrects the following: A Risk-Benefit Analysis of French High Fish Consumption: A QALY Approach Marie-Renée Guevel, Véronique Sirot, Jean-Luc Volatier, Jean-Charles Leblanc, Volume 28Issue 1Risk Analysis pages: 37-48 First Published online: February 25, 2008 First published: 28 June 2008 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2008.01059.xAboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Due to an editing error, Jean-Luc Volatier's affiliation was not listed. His affiliation is as follows: French Food Safety Agency, 27–31 avenue du Général Leclerc, F-94701 Maisons Alfort Cedex, France. REFERENCE Guevel, M.-R., Sirot, V., Volatier, J.-L., & Leblanc, J.-C. (2008). A risk-benefit analysis of French high fish consumption: A QALY approach. Risk Analysis, 28(1), 37– 48. Wiley Online LibraryPubMedWeb of Science®Google Scholar Volume28, Issue3June 2008Pages 801-801 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Risques alimentaires et maladies animales

Why has the French food safety agency been particularly mobilized on zoonoses like bovine spongiform encephalopathy ("mad cow disease") or highly pathogenic avian influenza ("bird flu") ? Because sanitary crisis make explicit an ambivalent relationship between humans and animals (animals being perceived alternatively as providers of goods and as bearers of threats), and to the circulation of life in general (the contaminated blood crises being due to the rapprochement of blood giving and blood receiving). The sociology of risks needs therefore to reintegrate the idea of an intention of the risk bearer (risk with enemy), and the sociology of alimentation needs to reintegrate the analysis of the conditions of production. Mad cow disease is the paradigmatic food safety crisis because it brings together the poles of production and consumption, of animals and humans. It therefore belongs to anthropology.

In-house validation for analytical methods and quality control for risk evaluation of chlordecone in food

Chlordecone was used until 1993 as a pesticide in the banana plantation of Martinique and Guadeloupe (French Antilles) against the root borer. This organochlorine pesticide was lipophilic, remnant, and toxic for human beings with both acute and chronic effects. Chlordecone was strongly absorbed and stored in soil and weakly decomposed in environment. Surveys conducted in 2001 revealed its presence in soil, rivers, and domestic food products. Local food (fruits and vegetables, cattle, poultry, and fish) was growing on soils, widely contaminated by chlordecone, used in the past as banana plantations. In 2003, French Administration asked for a risk evaluation for the Antilles population. The French Agency for Food Safety, proposed a Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake of 0.0005 mg kg−1 b.w. day−1, and an Acute Reference Dose of 0.01 mg kg−1 b.w. day−1, based on a toxicological risk assessment. The French National Reference Laboratory for pesticides has carried out two analytical methods, one for food of animal origin and another for food of fruit and vegetable origin. These methods were validated in the reference laboratory and dispatched to 13 laboratories for a proficiency test before the launch of two studies on Martinique and Guadeloupe food. About 900 samples from Martinique were sent to the network of laboratories for analysis of chlordecone. Performance parameters obtained through the proficiency test were briefly reported. The quality control test proposed in this study was discussed to shed light on the true variability achievable by intra-laboratory and inter-laboratory analysis. The limits of conventional quality-control procedures were discussed, and a process was proposed in order to get better confidence in analytical results.

Quantitative Risk Assessment of Listeria monocytogenes in French Cold‐Smoked Salmon: I. Quantitative Exposure Assessment

A quantitative assessment of the exposure to Listeria monocytogenes from cold-smoked salmon (CSS) consumption in France is developed. The general framework is a second-order (or two-dimensional) Monte Carlo simulation, which characterizes the uncertainty and variability of the exposure estimate. The model takes into account the competitive bacterial growth between L. monocytogenes and the background competitive flora from the end of the production line to the consumer phase. An original algorithm is proposed to integrate this growth in conditions of varying temperature. As part of a more general project led by the French Food Safety Agency (Afssa), specific data were acquired and modeled for this quantitative exposure assessment model, particularly time-temperature profiles, prevalence data, and contamination-level data. The sensitivity analysis points out the main influence of the mean temperature in household refrigerators and the prevalence of contaminated CSS on the exposure level. The outputs of this model can be used as inputs for further risk assessment.

Les exigences des dossiers scientifiques et réglementaires

As with any food wanting to claim health benefits, probiotic foods should have a file stating scientific justifications which has been or can be assessed by official agencies with the help of independent scientific experts. First and foremost, this assessment aims to guarantee the consumers'safety and the probiotic strain(s) should be fully documented in this respect. Agencies then examine data which ensures that the consumer is not misled: the bacteria should be present in adequate amounts and, most importantly, scientific results should establish that the claimed benefit is real. Functional or disease risk reduction claims are the most frequent for probiotic foods and they cannot be evaluated through a simple literature survey: proof that consuming regular quantities of the probiotic food will produce the claimed effect in the target population is required. Although experimental data from in vitro or animal models may be valuable, clinical proof obtained through human studies in line with established methodology are mandatory. The standards required by agencies are high and the scientific files, thus the research on which they are based should be consistent with the highest scientific quality standards, guaranteeing that the accepted claims are based on solid and recognised scientific data. Indeed, AFSSA (French Agency for Food Safety) haspositively assessed only three products out of the eight scientific files for probiotic foods or supplements it has reviewed. Other European countries work with the same requirements and the on-going European regulation on claims will standardise these demanding but necessary procedures, in order to ensure that the claimed benefits are real.

Outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype Manhattan infection associated with meat products, France, 2005.

Between August 2005 and March 2006 in France, 69 cases of Salmonella enterica serotype Manhattan (Salmonella Manhattan) were reported, 51 (74%) of them from southeastern France. At the time of the alert (November 2005), 13 cases and 33 controls were interviewed. Cases were more likely than controls to have eaten pork sausages (OR=5.9, confidence interval CI [1.3; 26.9]) and beef (OR=9.3, CI [1.3; 68.6]). At the same time, 19 strains of Salmonella Manhattan isolated from meat products in southeastern France, reported to the French food safety agency (Afssa, Agence française de sécurité sanitaire des aliments) in September and November 2005, had an indistinguishable PFGE profile to the 7 human isolates of Salmonella Manhattan from the outbreak in southeastern France. Trace-back investigations revealed that pork samples came from one wholesaler whose pork products had tested positive for S. Manhattan during routine food testing in August 2005. This wholesaler supplied retail outlets in southeastern France. Additionally, a slaughterhouse supplying the wholesaler was inspected and widespread contamination with Salmonella spp. and S. Manhattan was found. Cooperation between the national agencies in charge of human health (Institut de veille sanitaire, InVS) and food safety (Afssa) allowed us to determine the most probable source of contamination and to take appropriate control measures.

Insidious threat, emergent response

How the Cows Turned Mad describes the centuries-long search for the cause of obscure and always fatal diseases that first apparently afflicted sheep and later were found to attack people as well. This search led to the discovery of prions, the paradoxical proteins that scientists now believe are the cause of mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD), kuru, and scrapie. Along the way, researchers earned two Nobel Prizes. Author Maxime Schwartz is a molecular biologist, former head of the Institut Pasteur, and director of laboratories for the French agency for food safety, among his other scientific achievements. He is also an exceptionally clear writer.

Organisation de l'alimentation de l'enfant hospitalisé (réglementation, sécurité sanitaire, logistique)

Hygiene and food safety in hospital are regulated under the Directive of the French Ministry of Health of September 29 th, 1997, and, as of January 1 st, 2006, under the European Regulation 852/2004/EC of the European Parliament and Council, related to food hygiene. These two regulations have endorsed the HACCP system, which is nowadays considered at the international level as the best reference system for prevention of food borne risks. The French Food Safety Agency published in October 2005 recommendations for preparation and handling of powdered infant formulae. Launched in 2002, the Committees on Diet and Nutrition are devoted to improve in every hospital the nutritional management of patients and the quality of diet and nutrition, to answer properly unresolved questions related to diet or nutrition, and to improve continuing education of staff.

Risques et bénéfices pour la santé des acides grastransapportés par les aliments. Recommandations

The French Food Safety Agency (Agence Francaise de Securite Sanitaire des Aliments, AFSSA) has recently adopted a definite position on risks and benefits of food trans fatty acids (TFA) for human health. After considering available data on origins and biological activities of all types of TFA, including conjugated fatty acids (CLA), it has been proposed a regulatory definition of these fatty acids which is the chemical one: « the trans fatty acids are all unsaturated fatty acids that contain at least one double bond in a trans configuration ». This definition includes the CLA and TFA of animal origin. Daily intakes of TFA (except CLA) in France was found to be 3 g/d in adults, i.e. 1.3% total energy intake (E %).[...]

The quality-management system in research implemented in the food and food process quality research laboratory of the French Food Safety Agency

The French Food Safety Agency is a public body incorporating 12 laboratories that perform research to support expertise and public decisions taken in the fields of sanitary safety of food, animal health, and veterinary drugs. On the request of the General Management of the Agency a quality-management system in research (QMSR) is being implemented in the Food and Food Process Quality Research Laboratory. The experimental QMSR is based on existing standards and documents, describing the provisions required for scientific and technical competence, quality management, and project management. Furthermore, this QMSR also incorporates specific notions of great importance for research activities such as the positive and negative non-conformities, the non-confirmation of hypotheses, and the principle of evaluation of a research activity by peers for both quality and scientific aspects.

Prévention nutritionnelle par les vitamines B : vers un programme-pilote d’enrichissement des farines en France ?

A steering committee, held by the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA) has discussed the possibilities for flour fortification in vitamins B in France. Folic acid is known to be efficient in preventing neural tube defects (NTD) ; it also has a probable effect of preventing cardio- and cerebrovascular diseases, and has a possible effect on cancers. The published AFSSA report advocates the necessity for a public health evaluation of the benefits and risks of fortification and leads to recommend the launching of a pilot programme in the Alsace region over 5 years, with a comprehensive assessment using control regions. Depending on the results in Alsace and the availability of new data regarding this issue, it will be possible to generalise flour fortification over the country, if possibly before the end of the pilot programme.

A quantitative risk assessment of waterborne cryptosporidiosis in France using second-order Monte Carlo simulation.

A pragmatic quantitative risk assessment (QRA) of the risks of waterborne Cryptosporidium parvum infection and cryptosporidiosis in immunocompetent and immunodeficient French populations is proposed. The model takes into account French specificities such as the French technique for oocyst enumeration performance and tap water consumption. The proportion of infective oocysts is based on literature review and expert knowledge. The probability of infection for a given number of ingested viable oocysts is modeled using the exponential dose-response model applied on published data from experimental infections in immunocompetent human volunteers challenged with the IOWA strain. Second-order Monte Carlo simulations are used to characterize the uncertainty and variability of the risk estimates. Daily risk of infection and illness for the immunocompetent and the immunodeficient populations are estimated according to the number of oocysts observed in a single storage reservoir water sample. As an example, the mean daily risk of infection in the immunocompetent population is estimated to be 1.08 x 10(-4) (95% confidence interval: [0.20 x 10(-4); 6.83 x 10(-4)]) when five oocysts are observed in a 100 L storage reservoir water sample. Annual risks of infection and disease are estimated from a set of oocyst enumeration results from distributed water samples, assuming a negative binomial distribution of day-to-day contamination variation. The model and various assumptions used in the model are fully explained and discussed. While caveats of this model are well recognized, this pragmatic QRA could represent a useful tool for the French Food Safety Agency (AFSSA) to define recommendations in case of water resource contamination by C. parvum whose infectivity is comparable to the IOWA strain.

La rénovation du système français d'analyse des risques sanitaires

After several decades of gradual improvement in its system for managing health risks, France was confronted in 1996 with the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis. This triggered a collective questioning, which highlighted the need to reform a system that had shown its limitations. Risk analysis, established as a key principle by the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), was cast as the necessary basis of the reform, objectives of which were to better identify priority risks in order to ensure the protection of human and animal health, and to improve the quality of measures implemented by the public authorities. The Act of 1 July 1998 founded several independent risk assessment agencies, including the French Agency for Food Safety (AFSSA), with the specific mandate of food safety at every stage of the food chain. Other organisational reforms enhanced the new system, notably the separation between the functions of risk management and economic support for food industries, initially at central level, then in 2002 at the level of field services in the 100 French départements. Lastly, new procedures were introduced. These were designed, in accordance with the principles of risk assessment, to better identify and to individualise the different decision-making sequences. The decision-making process was extended to include submission to the agency in charge of evaluating health risks and examination by the agency of the resulting draft decision.

Can consultation of both experts and the public help developing public policy? Some aspects of the debate in France

We propose that the use of a contract between the State and scientific experts be brought into general use to clarify the procedures for expert consultations aimed at elucidating public decisions in situations to which the precautionary principle applies. This discussion is based on several instances of expert and public consultations conducted over the past decade at the request of the French government, and on the structure and operation of four health and safety agencies recently created, in particular, the French food safety agency (l'Agence francaise de securite sanitaire des aliments, AFSSA). Finally, we suggest a number of underlying principles to govern the use of expert advice and consultation in the process of public decision-making about issues involving scientific and technical uncertainty. Copyright , Beech Tree Publishing.

The French antibiotic resistance monitoring programs

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from animal origin in France is organised by the French Agency for Food Safety (Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments, AFSSA) through two types of networks. The first collects non-human zoonotic Salmonella strains in one centre (AFSSA, Paris) where they are tested for their antimicrobial susceptibility. The others, managed by AFSSA Lyon, deal with bovine pathogenic strains and are multicentric, that is they collecting antibiotic sensitivity and other data from the local public veterinary diagnostic laboratories. This requires standardisation of the methods used in each partner laboratory. Statistical analysis of any change in French resistance patterns can be monitored by these three networks either as a function of strain pathogenicity and/or of the ecological origin of the isolate. The system also encourages efficient collaboration between veterinarians and the laboratory. Such collaboration improves both the quality of routine antibiotic testing and understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance.