Director: Laurent Laloux
Deputy Scientific Director: Jacques-Antoine Hennekinne
Deputy Director for General Affairs: Catherine Lambert
Addresses:
Maisons-Alfort: 14 rue Pierre & Marie Curie 94701 Maisons-Alfort Cedex - Tel.: +33 (0)1 49 77 13 50
Boulogne-sur-Mer: 6 boulevard Bassin Napoléon 62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer - Tel.: +33 (0)3 21 99 25 00
Email: contact.LSAL@anses.fr
Employees: around 140 spread out across 10 units and one technology platform
The Laboratory for Food Safety focuses on biological and chemical hazards that can affect food safety and quality. It has two sites, in Maisons-Alfort and Boulogne-sur-Mer.
“Food safety” refers to efforts to guarantee the safety of food products, i.e. ensure that their consumption will not have negative health consequences. The laboratory’s scientific activities aim to enrich knowledge on the types of contaminants or “hazards” found in food, understand their mechanisms of action and effects on health, and help improve policies for protecting consumer health.
The Maisons-Alfort site has 120 employees, specialising in food safety, while the Boulogne-sur-Mer site has over 20 staff members, dedicated exclusively to fishery and aquaculture products.
The Laboratory for Food Safety provides public decision-makers with general scientific expertise on the quality and safety of foodstuffs, as well as more specific expertise relating to certain processing sectors.
The laboratory's work focuses on biological (bacteria, viruses, parasites) and chemical (toxins, metal trace elements, pesticides, organic pollutants, histamine) hazards that are found or likely to be found in foods, especially during their distribution and consumption:
The laboratory also performs analyses for health authorities and professionals in relation to fishery products (fish, shellfish, crustaceans) in Boulogne-sur-Mer and in relation to all types of foodstuffs in Maisons-Alfort, in the framework of the Central Laboratory for Veterinary Services, which carries out official analyses for the Departmental Directorates for the Protection of Populations (DDPPs) in the Paris region.
The laboratory hosts the national “IdentyPath” technology platform for the identification and typing of pathogens using high- and medium-throughput PCR.
Main biological contaminants studied:
Main chemical contaminants studied:
A partnership to better control bacteria in food processing facilities
The presence of Listeria and Salmonella bacteria in food processing facilities poses several problems: pathogenic for humans, these bacteria are capable of persisting for a long time in the environment and resisting treatment with biocidal products. The Actia Fastypers Joint Technology Unit (UMT) was recently created by the French Ministry of Agriculture for a five-year period, in order to work on these issues. It brings together research teams (ANSES, INRAE) and agro-industrial technical institutes (Actalia, for the dairy sector, and the French Pork and Pig Institute (IFIP)).
The laboratory has 10 units, one technological platform, three scientific departments and six support services, spread out across two sites: Maisons-Alfort and Boulogne-sur-Mer.
Scientific partnerships are a high priority for the laboratory, with the main objective of developing complementary skills and analytical approaches with external partners.
In this context, long-term regional partnerships have been created, in particular with universities such as the University of the Littoral-Côte d’Opale (ULCA) in the Hauts-de-France region and University of Paris-Est-Créteil (UPEC) in the Île-de-France region. Arrangements in the form of federative research structures (SFRs) or university schools of research (EURs) are being considered with these partners.
Internationally, the laboratory is involved in strategic partnerships between ANSES or the French State and various European agencies, including its counterparts from the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, the Technical University of Denmark, Sciensano in Belgium, and the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS). Outside of Europe, emphasis is placed on partnerships with large North American organisations (United States, Canada); partnerships with India, China and South-east Asia are also being studied.
Addresses and opening hours for sample deliveries:
Boulogne-sur-Mer site
Opening hours: 9:00 am - 12:30 pm / 2:00 - 5:00 pm
6 Boulevard Bassin Napoléon, 62200 Boulogne-sur-Mer
Maisons-Alfort site
Opening hours: 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
14 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, 94701 Maisons-Alfort Cedex
The services offered by the Laboratory for Food Safety and their implementation conditions are listed in the Service catalogue.
The units of the Laboratory for Food Safety (LCSV, PBM pesticides team, VE) are equipped with analysis management software and can send you analysis reports electronically, instead of by post. This shortens delivery lead times and facilitates transmission. To benefit from this service, please send us a signed copy of the agreement on proof.