Food and nutrition

Faced with the globalisation of trade, the emergence of new consumption patterns and the diversity of the food offer, a high level of vigilance is required to prevent new risks in the food sector. These risks must be evaluated, without however neglecting "conventional" physico-chemical and microbiological risks (bacterial contamination, Salmonella, etc.), as well as certain risks linked to environmental contaminants.This is the role of ANSES, which is involved in all stages of the food production chain and which assesses health risks from primary production to the plate of the final consumer. The Agency assesses the nutritional risks and benefits of foods and their ingredients, the quality of drinking water, monitors eating habits, and helps draft public health objectives and recommendations. It also develops diagnostic methods, conducts research work and performs expert scientific assessments on the risks of products, processes and practices in addition to providing surveillance and monitoring in the area of nutrition.

Learn to distinguish horse chestnuts from sweet chestnuts, to avoid poisoning!

In this early autumn period, horse chestnuts, which grow and fall from the horse chestnut or conker tree, are frequently confused with sweet chestnuts, which come from the sweet or Spanish chestnut tree.

In a study by ANSES on cases of confusion between plants recorded by French poison control centres from 2012 to 2018, confusion of horse chestnuts with sweet chestnuts accounted for 11% of cases, all seasons combined, ...

Published on 25/09/2019