Legal and political context

Content taken from the “Oqali: a food observatory to support public nutrition policy” dossier

With the National Nutrition and Health Programme (PNNS) launched in 2001, the public authorities have put in place a genuine public nutrition policy. Its aim is to improve the nutritional quality of food by simultaneously influencing consumer purchasing behaviour and improving the food supply from the agri-food industries (IAA).

The National Nutrition and Health Programme (PNNS) aims to improve the state of health of the French by acting on one of its major determinants: nutrition. The word “nutrition” encompasses all issues relating to food: nutrients, foods, physical activity, but also the social, cultural, economic, sensory and cognitive determinants of eating habits. Based on the advice of scientific experts, the PNNS supports a wide range of communication and information campaigns to raise public awareness of nutrition and health issues. The aim is to change eating habits. To achieve this, it sets consumption guidelines such as the famous “eat 5 fruit and vegetables a day” of the PNNS1 (2001-2005).

Another key objective of the PNNS2 (2006-2010) is to improve the food on offer. Voluntary “charters of commitment to nutritional progress” have been developed with companies in the agri-food sector. A less coercive public policy instrument than standards or taxes, such charters are based on voluntary action and validated by the public authorities after expert appraisal. They demonstrate the commitment of a private player to improving the nutritional quality of the products it markets. The priority of the charters is to encourage companies in the production, processing, distribution and catering sectors to reformulate their recipes by reducing the levels of sugar, fat and/or salt, and to facilitate access to the foods recommended by the PNNS. Between 2008 and 2016, 38 voluntary nutritional progress charters were signed with companies such as Fleury Michon, Brossard, Marie and McCain.

The Observatoire de la qualité de l’alimentation (Oqali) was set up in February 2008 to monitor the quality of processed food products on the French market.

Another mission entrusted to the Observatoire de l’alimentation, and by no means the least important, is to monitor the roll-out of the Nutri-Score. As part of EU Regulation 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, known as the INCO Regulation, in 2014 the Ministry of Health opted for the introduction of a simplified labelling system informing consumers clearly, visibly and easily about the nutritional quality of food.

Science needs and contributions from INRAE

Content from the “Oqali: a food observatory to support public nutrition policy” dossier

Described as a nutritional pathology by the World Health Organisation, obesity is a public health issue. Public policies have been tackling this issue through information and prevention strategies since the late 1990s. The need for knowledge and tools to share it has never been greater, and data on food and its transparency is a crucial issue. At the interface between science and public policy, INRAE and Anses have developed a food quality observatory: Oqali.

With the National Nutrition and Health Programme (PNNS) launched in 2001, the public authorities have put in place a genuine public nutrition policy. Its aim is to improve the nutritional quality of food by simultaneously influencing consumer purchasing behaviour and improving the food supply by the agri-food industries (IAA). While it has been established that a healthy diet is better for your health, enforcing these recommendations remains a major challenge. It is against this backdrop that the Observatoire de l’alimentation (Oqali) was set up by INRAE and the Anses (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail). The observatory collects, processes and analyses data on the nutritional characteristics of processed products sold in supermarkets and hypermarkets: nutritional composition and labelling parameters. The aim of such an observatory is to monitor changes in the food supply and to help guide public nutrition policy.