Sale, in France and abroad

Accurate labelling

©Michel Lavoix/Min.Agri.Fr

Mandatory product label information is the link between the producer and the customer, and the labels' objective is to provide total traceability of French poultry from breeding.

• The batch numbers or individual identification numbers allow one to locate the products' "identification sheet". They will help identify the breeder in the case of traditional poultry, and for labelled poultry, they will also indicate the animal's age at slaughter and the type of feed he received. The labels on certified products, either labelled or AB, also indicates the name of the independent certifying agency that inspected the product.
• The health stamp given by the DGAL(General food administration) appears on the product labels of all poultry meat, and indicates that the product was inspected by a certified entity and that it satisfies all current health regulations.
   

  The DGAL, General food administration (Minister of agriculture and fishing)

  The DGAL fulfils the duties that its ministry is in charge of relative to the health of vegetation and animals, and proceeds with health safety inspections of food and agricultural products. With support from the Regional veterinarian services agencies (4,000 agents) and the Regional vegetation protection agencies (450 agents), the DGAL organises the supervision of health on French territory, coordinates health alerts and fights epizootic disease.

  A few figures to illustrate its activities: in 2007, the ministry proceeded with 177,668 food hygiene inspections, 183,542 animal health inspections and 18,389 breeding farm inspections.

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• For the French market: the mention of "100% vegetable, mineral and vitamin-based" specifies that the poultry was exclusively fed with this type of healthy and appropriate food. Also, mention of "free-range" or "raised outdoors / raised freely" are reserved for flesh poultry raised outdoors and raised freely under Label Rouge or biological or AOC labels (according to European regulation number CE 1538-91 and the rural French code applicable since January 2001).

A certificate for exporting

At all stages, professionals are required to verify that they are correctly adhering to regulations and registering their actions. As for public authorities, they inspect the various intermediaries of the industry and make sure that those involved adhere to the applicable regulations.

When the official French veterinarian is assured that the poultry were raised and slaughtered in accordance with applicable regulations, and that they adhere to any additional guarantees required by the importing country, he can certify, with an official document, that the meat is fit for consumption in the foreign countries where they will be exported. In any case, it is impossible to export poultry meat that is unsuitable for human consumption in France.

A rigorous and efficient alert procedure in the event of risk

The national alert network and the community alert network ensure of health supervision and of organised efforts in the event of a potential or actual risk to human health. The Food and Veterinarian Agency (OAV), a European Commission agency, ensures that the European community legislation overseeing food safety, animal health, vegetation health and animal well-being must be followed and applied in an appropriate manner. As a result, it regularly proceeds with audit missions of veterinarian services in all of the member states. The free circulation of goods is therefore guaranteed to be completely safe.

In the event that a health problem arises, the veterinarian, or any intermediary in the chain, is expected to inform the veterinarian agencies. The latter are obliged to proceed with a preliminary analysis of the situation and to alert, if need be, the other administrations that are concerned: DGCCRF and DGS (General Health Administration).

In the event of immediate risk to human health, the company is expected to proceed with the removal of the products that may present the same risk as the incriminated sample. When a risk is detected in an exported product, French authorities immediately inform the destination country's officials. The French agricultural and veterinarian attachés of the respective embassies are the link with the national health authorities.

 

The national alert network system

Each regional veterinarian services agency transfers non-conformity notices to the DGAL's (General food administration) central health alert management office. The latter makes the relevant information available to the concerned agencies and manages the coordination of remedial activities if it is required.

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The community's alert network system

Member countries alert the European Commission regarding any non-conformities observed in foods that are either produced and exported by them, or produced in another country but distributed in their country. The alert network is called the RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed). Each member country has an available contact. In France there are two: the DGAL (General food administration) health alert management office for animal and animal-based food products, and the DGCCRF (General agency for fair business practices and fraud repression), for everything non-related to animal foodstuffs. These contact points then make the information available to the regional offices that are concerned and make sure that the information is diffused and that remedial actions are coordinated.

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