The country’s food safety body, AFSSA, and its Agency for Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (AFSSET) were combined on 1 July. A Government statement said the new agency “meets the imperative need for multi-disciplinary expertise to deal with risks facing” French society as well as offering Europe a health agency model.
It will have a board consisting of representatives from public authorities, labour unions, professional bodies, NGOs and non-profit organisations. There will also be four steering committees and a number of scientific panels. Nominations for these are expected to be made by September 2010 and a work programme finalised by the autumn.