Too many conflicts of interest, not enough listening. Yves Lévy, CEO of Inserm, is leaving the committee that oversees the nutritional color code test. Conflicts of interest would be involved.
Could the nutrition labeling project be undermined from within? Experimentation with four color codes, displayed on food packaging, starts in September. But it is now four members of the steering committee who have announced their resignation to the Ministry of Health, which coordinates the work. The last to throw in the towel is a luminary. Yves Lévy, CEO of Inserm, resigned on July 7, according to AFP and The world. His “reservations and criticisms” on the development of the tests would not have been sufficiently taken into account.
Bitter negotiations
Announced in May, the experimentation with the different nutritional color codes has gotten the hang of it. From September, and for three months, around fifty supermarkets will adopt simplified labeling: using colors and symbols, consumers will be informed about the quality of food on the shelves.
At the end of these tests “under real purchasing conditions”, the Ministry of Health will decide which code will be chosen. Among the systems evaluated, one is proposed by the Federation of Commerce and Distribution (FCD) which fought intensely to obtain a compromise, as explained Why actor in a survey.
But these bitter negotiations turned to the advantage of the industrialists. The steering committee, responsible for overseeing the development of the protocol, included several stakeholders. At its head, it is chaired by the Director General of Health, Benoît Vallet, and Christian Babusiaux, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the French Food and Health Fund (FFAS) – mainly financed by the agro-food industry.
The ministry defends itself
Within the scientific committee, which defined the conditions of the experiment, links with industry are also frequent. This is in part what motivated the resignation of three of its members.
Because, before Yves Lévy, Philippe Ravaud (Inserm), Denis Hémon (Inserm) and Karine Gallopel-Morvan (EHSEP) have decided to withdraw. They denounced a deleterious climate, “many biases” and conflicts of interest. According to AFP information, the CEO of Inserm also felt a lack of listening regarding his reservations about the rigor of the protocol. Inserm, contacted by Why actor, declined to comment on this statement.
Since the departure of these experts, the situation has not improved. The company responsible for carrying out the field tests is a regular service provider to the food industry. LinkUp, consulting company, prides itself on working for ANIA (National Association of Food Industries), Nestlé or Kinder.
The Ministry of Health, contacted by Why actor, is reassuring on this point: “lobbying around the nutritional logo” is well recognized. But Marisol Touraine’s cabinet compares it to that suffered during the development of the neutral package – adopted in May. “The entire scientific study is financed 100% from public funds”, namely the State and the Health Insurance, adds the ministry which specifies that the decisions will be taken after the delivery of the results.
These conclusions will be the subject of an independent analysis by ANSES, which already given a notice on the two logos offered and two other codes existing abroad.
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