France is to set up a food watchdog to monitor nutritional quality and food prices.
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The French government has asked the national agricultural research institute, INRA, and the food safety agency, AFSSA, to set up the body, to be called the l’Observatoire de la Qualité de l’Alimentation (OQALI).
The watchdog will operate under the auspices of France’s agriculture, health and consumer affairs ministries and be headed by Bernard Chevassus-au-Louis, former president of both INRA and AFSSA.
The two public agencies said a major aspect of OQALI’s role would be able to “measure and publicise, in an objective manner, the concrete measures undertaken by the food industry, in particular with regard to their commitment to nutritional progress”.
Last March, food manufacturers and retailers including Danone, Auchan, Carrefour and Unilever each signed an individual charter pledging to promote good nutrition within the framework of the French government’s anti-obesity drive.
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By GlobalDataAn AFSSA spokesperson told just-food that there would no overlap between food safety agency’s current functions and the powers of the new watchdog.
The spokesperson could not say when the new watchdog would enter service and added that it was too early to put a figure on how many staff it would employ and where they would be drawn from.
