20h32 – After the Lactalis case, the commission of inquiry calls for a better control of the industrialists

Better control of manufacturers, single point of contact for health crises and revision of withdrawal / recall procedures: these are the main tracks drawn by the parliamentary inquiry commission on the contamination of infant milks Lactalis on Wednesday

End of 2017 , 36 infants had salmonellosis after consuming a child product made by Lactalis.

The process of withdrawal was chaotic and many dysfunctions that led to the contamination were uncovered, leading to the opening of a judicial inquiry and the creation of the parliamentary commission of inquiry , who made public his recommendations in the afternoon.

The rapporteur of the commission, Grégory Besson-Moreau, deputy In March (LREM), like the president Christian Hutin, related socialist, emphasized that they wished see this report quickly lead to a proposal for a law

M. Besson-Moreau tapped the dairy giant saying that the group's explanations about the origin of the contamination "do not coll", while stressing to have discovered during the hearings that the whole chain had "derailed" During this crisis

The recommendations of the parliamentary commission of inquiry are therefore "each link," from industrialists to distributors through the state services, said the deputy of Aube.

– Single Authority –

To avoid health problems in the food industry, "self-control is not enough," Hutin said earlier on Europe 1 , baderting that it was necessary to "control the controllers, and control the controlled" and asking to verify the independence of the laboratories.

The commission recommends "to touch the wallet" the industrialists who "will not respect a form of deontology and de rigueur on the According to Mr. Hutin, the commission also demands that the state put an end to the "police war" and creates a single authority in the field of food security. , transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture, denouncing a "Mexican army" with "three ministries (involved): Health, Bercy (Ministry of Economy and Finance, ed) and Agriculture, it is not possible".

To illustrate the limits of the system, Mr. Besson-Moreau explained that at present, "the General Directorate of Health and the repression of frauds (DGCCRF) are each working on their side to the establishment a different application (computer, ed), intended to warn citizens during health crises, when they could or should have joined their efforts. "

– Creation of 800 jobs –

The report , which will be made public next week, also intends to find funds to ensure better efficiency of government services through a new levy on industry, voted at European level, the proceeds of 270 million euros will be " automatically transferred to the DGAL ", according to Mr. Moreau-Besson. This sum could, according to the rapporteur, allow the creation of "800 equivalent full-time jobs".

Concerning the withdrawal / recall procedure, which had proved to be failing during the Lactalis crisis, Mr Hutin mentioned several avenues: stress tests such as for banks, the replacement of barcodes by QR codes to facilitate blocking at the cash register, and staff training. He also asks that one employee per store "be responsible for public health."

"In cases of serious and proven health risk, including the hypothesis of a terrorist act of poisoning, all means must be able to be mobilized to contact customers, including banking data ", the rapporteur added.

The UFC Que Choisir Consumer Advocacy Organization expressed doubts about MEPs' proposals. "If several of the measures that we claimed are taken (…) some proposals leave much doubtful," reacted in a statement UFC Que Choisir, who had lodged a complaint against Lactalis for deception.

The NGO pointed the finger the creation of a single authority for food security under the Ministry of Agriculture. Such an attachment "can only worry: should we remember the calamitous management of the scandal of mad cow and more recently that of Fipronil?", The badociation said.

The Minister of Agriculture, Travert judged the fears of the UFC "out of place."

"It is curious to launch serious accusations that implicate the work of agents who have behaved well in the management of health crises", he told AFP. "It is insulting to all these officials."