The food security market - France (2023)

1.2 A fast-growing global market

The report on the food safety testing market forecasts growth from $**.* billion in **** to $**.* billion by ****, at a CAGR of *.*%. It underlines the importance of testing in ensuring food quality and consumer health, highlighting concerns over food contamination and technological advances. The market includes various types of food and testing methods. Demand is driven by food recalls and heightened concerns since COVID-**, while challenges include the high cost of equipment and lack of coordination between players.

Global market for food safety analysis World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

Food safety is regulated at European level

At European level, food safety is regulated by the European Food Safety Authority (***).

In ****, the RASFF network recorded *,*** notifications in Europe, of which *,*** led to real alerts. Although these figures have fallen slightly from a record-breaking ****, the overall trend since **** shows a steady rise in the number of notifications and alerts.[***]

Notifications and alerts Europe, ****-**** Source: ****

in ****, the RASFF recorded *,*** notifications, mainly for food (***), with a slight drop in original notifications compared to ****. The most frequent incidents concerned accidental contamination. Alerts fell by **.*%, while border rejections rose slightly, reflecting increased vigilance at EU borders. Fruit and vegetables remain the most frequently reported product ...

1.3 The domestic market

France is recognized as having one of the most effective food safety systems in the world. The country has a total of **,*** government-appointed veterinary health inspectors and *,*** inspectors, who monitor over ***,*** farmsand more than ***,*** processing, distribution and catering establishments. [***]

The annual cost is estimated by the government at around *** million euros per year, which corresponds to our market size.

What do the inspectors check? Concrete application of procedures to guarantee product safety. Strict compliance with hygiene standards in the animal sector (***). The detection of undesirable substances* in animal and plant foodstuffs, as well as in animal feedstuffs, by taking preanalyzed by a network of accredited reference laboratories, with over ***,*** analyses carried out. *Includes prohibited substances, anabolics, veterinary drugs, environmental contaminants, and harmful biological agents (***).

Inspections and controls by the French health safety system France, ****, in number of inspections Source: ****

iF we look at RASFF activity at French level, we can see that the number of total notifications also increased from **** to ****, as did the number of alerts, up from ** in **** to *** in ****. France thus accounted for **.**% of total European alerts in ****.

RASFF notification by type France, ****-**** Source: ****

Share of European total France, ****, % of total Source: ****

In ****, poultry and poultry products ...

2.1 Increasing the number of inspections

The graph illustrates the evolution of import controls from third countries into France from **** to ****. It shows two sets of data: the number of batches inspected and the number of batches rejected. In ****, a total of ***,*** batches were inspected, with *,*** batches refused. This activity decreases in ****, with **,*** lots inspected and only *** rejected. In ****, there is a significant increase, with ***,*** lots inspected and a notable rise in refusals to *,***. The year **** maintains this trend, with the highest number of lots inspected over the period observed: ***,*** and *,*** rejected. This graph therefore shows a clear increase in import controls over this four-year period, despite a temporary drop in ****, with a resumption and growth in controls and refusals in **** and ****.

Trends in third-country import controls France, ****-****, in number of controls Source: ****

Annual program for monitoring contamination of primary production, foodstuffs and animal feedstuffs

Samples taken in **** Of which Non-compliant samples Samples scheduled for **** TOTAL of which ***** *** ***** Physico-chemical contaminants in animal production ***** *** ***** Biological contaminants and toxins in animal production **** ** **** Phytosanitary product residues in primary plant production * *** ** *** Contaminants in products imported from third countries *** * * to *% of imported batches Antibiotic resistance in commensal and zoonotic bacteria * *** Not applicable **** Source: DGAL In ****, **% of samples taken were forphysico-chemical contaminants ...

2.2 Consumer confidence in the purchase or consumption of food products

In ****, French people's confidence in farmers to guaranteea high level of food safety for their products is particularly high, reaching **%.

French people's confidence in products from French agriculture France, ****, in Source: ****

Confidence in processed foods bought in supermarkets France, ****, in Source: ****

French people's opinions on changes in the safety of products bought in supermarkets France, ****, in Source: ****

Confidence in processed foods purchased in convenience stores France, ****, in Source: ****

the impact of labels

Nevertheless, certain elements play a key role in the confidence consumers have in food: proximity is the*st factor cited (***), followed by origin and quality labels, which are a guarantee of confidence for **% of consumers.

Consumer confidence drivers France, ****, in Source: ****

3.1 The importance of public bodies in the food safety market

Responsibility for food safety in France is shared between various public bodies:

The Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Alimentaires (***): AFSSA is responsible for the scientific side of food safety in France. The Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et la Répression des Fraudes (***), which is responsible for market safety in general, but more specifically for food safety.market safety in general, but also more specifically on legislation concerning consumer information, quality requirements and food composition. In ****, the DGCCRF carried out **,*** food inspections. The Direction Générale de la Santé (***), which deals with drinking water and packaged water. The Direction Générale de l'Alimentation (***), which carried out over **,*** controls in ****. Its budget for **** was around *** million euros, for a workforce of *,*** control agents[***] The Directions Départementales de la Protection des Populations (***), local relays of national agencies under central management.

Source: ****

Sanitary control organization by product type

Source: ****

These public bodies also rely on networks of laboratories (***), declared and recognized as competent and referent in food safety matters.

There are several different laboratory networks:

The National Reference Laboratories (***), which are the recognized and approved laboratories, of which there are ** in France. Service ...

3.2 Laboratory testing and bioanalysis companies

In addition to these reference laboratories, many other companies market sanitary control solutions or sanitary self-controls. The main players include Mérieux Nutrisciences, Eurofins Scientific and Carso.

These companies are grouped together under the NAF activity code **.**B, entitled "Technical analysis, testing and inspection". This code covers both food safety and other types of technical inspection (***). The scope of this activity code is therefore broader than that of our study, but it remains interesting to consider the data provided by ACOSS.

Technical analysis, testing and inspection (***)

The analysis business has grown strongly over the past ** years, with a **% increase in the number of establishments between **** and ****, and a **% increase in the number of employees over the period.

Establishments registered under activity code **.**B France, ****-**** Source: ****

Employees registered under activity code **.**B France, ****-**** Source: ****

The Île-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Occitanie regions have the highest number of establishments specializing in technical analysis, testing and inspection.

3.3 The players in food safety solutions

Finally, the last type of player to be highlighted in the food safety market is that of food safety solutions providers. These are not the companies and laboratories that carry out controls, but the companies that offer and install various solutions enabling catering establishments, sales outlets or food processing plants to ensure the hygiene of their products.

Headquartered in Arcueil, France, Ecolab is the world leader in hygiene technologies. By ****, its sales will have reached $**.* billion, an increase of almost ***% on **** (***), testifying to the dynamism of this global market.

Ecolab revenues World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

We can also mention a few more specialized players:

FlexXray, the national leader in X-ray inspection for food companies. The company also has a strong presence in the USA, with **% of the top ** processed food producers among its customers. [***] Neogen has developed a self-checking test enabling food manufacturers to test products for the presence of Listeria in ** minutes, thus avoiding cross-contamination on a larger scale. [***]

4.1 Food controls in France by type of establishment

As reported by the Cour des Comptes in its February **** report on food safety controls, the number of controls carried out by public bodies has fallen overall. In particular, controls in distribution and catering establishments fell by -**% between **** and ****. In this sector, the coverage rate (***) thus reached a very low score of *% in ****.

At the same time, the proportion of companies with anomalies in the total number of companies inspected by the DGCCRF rose from **% in **** to **% in ****. As for the DGAL, the rate of anomalies observed reached **% in ****. [***]

Breakdown of controls carried out by the DGAL France, ****, in Source: ****

Number of follow-ups by type of establishment France, **** Source: ****

4.2 Labels of origin and quality

Labels of origin and quality, as previously mentioned, are one of the key drivers of consumer confidence in food products. In France, the label nomenclature is managed by INAO (***). [***]

Today, there are * distinct labels:

Appellation d'origine (***) : this label designates a product whose production respects recognized stages and know-how, in a defined and limited geographical area. This label is based on the notion of terroir. Protected Geographical Indication : this label applies mainly to agricultural and wine-growing products, and identifies a product whose quality and reputation are linked to its geographical origin. Spécialité Traditionnelle Garantie (***): this label is rare and rarely awarded, as it corresponds to products whose qualities are linked to a composition or processing method based on tradition. Label Rouge: this label denotes superior quality compared to other products marketed in the same category. This label is applied in particular to poultry, and takes into account the conditions under which the animals are raised. Organic Agriculture : this label identifies a production method that combines respect for biodiversity, preservation of natural resources and animal welfare.

Source: ****

4.3 Supply trends: new technologies for food safety and traceability

In ****, Mérieux Nutrisciences invested in start-up Crystalchain (***), developing a new offering using blockchain and data for food traceability. The two companies are aiming for total market transparency as to the provenance of foodstuffs, via comprehensive information that consumers can access at any time.

The benefits of this new offering are manifold:

Real-time tracking provides continuous access to tables and decision-support tools, enabling continuous optimization of supply chain and purchasing management Consumers can check and access reliable and secure information In the event of a health crisis, product recalls are made faster and more effective, helping to avoid widespread contamination

Source: ****

5.1 The main principles of food hygiene in France

All foodstuffs are subject to the general provisions of the French Consumer Code in terms of conformity (***).

Several regulations lay down the legislative foundations for food hygiene in France:

Regulation n°***/**** on the general principles and requirements of food law[***] Regulation n°***/**** on the hygiene of foodstuffs[***] Regulation n°***/**** laying down specific rules for animal foodstuffs[***] The decree of December **, **** on health rules applicable to the trade, retail, storage and transport of products of animal origin and foodstuffs containing them.[***]

Source: ****

Food hygiene is also regulated at European level by the "Hygiene Package", a set of measures and regulations applying in all member states. This legislation came into force on January*, ****, and is derived from the White Paper on Food Safety published in **** following several health crises.

The Hygiene Package comprises six main texts, including * mentioned above: EC regulation no. ***/****, EC regulation no. ***/**** and EC regulation no. ***/****.

in addition to these three texts

eC regulation n°***/**** (***) eC regulation n°***/**** (***) eC regulation n°***/**** (***)

The decree of June **** assigns full responsibility for food safety missions to the Direction Générale de l'Alimentation (***). These missions include :

Control of production chains for food products of animal origin and those derived from animals. Control of ...

5.2 Food safety in the EGAlim law

The EGAlim law, or Loi pour l'équilibre des relations commerciales dans le secteur agricole et une alimentation saine et durable, passed on October *, **** and promulgated on November*, ****.

The objectives of this law are as follows:

Relaunch the creation of value in agriculture and agri-food and ensure its proper distribution Enable farmers to make a living from their work Support the transformation of production models to meet consumer needs and expectations Promote consumer choices in favor of healthy, safe and sustainable food[***]

Food quality and safety are thus at the heart of this new law. The following is a non-exhaustive list of measures relating specifically to food safety:

Developing quality labels and organic farming Implementing effective surveillance to identify and assess risks (***) Strengthen government control resources and powers Strengthen European coordination in the fight against food fraud[***]

6.1 Player segmentation

• Ecolab
• Siliker (groupe Mérieux Nutrisciences)
• Kersia
• Intertek
• Eurofins Groupe
• Securitest France (SGS groupe)
• Bureau Veritas BV