The deputies adopted by 93 votes against 1, and one abstention, a MoDem bill to this effect at first reading. The text must now be examined by the Senate dominated by the right, which seems unlikely under this five-year term, given the already busy parliamentary calendar.
Its author, the centrist deputy of Loiret Richard Ramos, welcomed this “historic” vote Thursday of a “humanist” text, constituting a “concrete response to junk food, which especially affects the poorest”.
“Two-speed feeding”
In support, the Minister for Relations with Parliament, Marc Fesneau, on behalf of the government, also underlined the “risk of a two-speed diet”, while the more expensive nitrite-free ranges are developing.
Historically, pork butchers have used nitrated components to extend the shelf life of products and prevent the development of pathogenic bacteria that cause botulism in particular, a serious neurological condition that has been largely forgotten due to health progress. In addition to giving the naturally gray ham its pink color, they also allow the use of lower quality, cheaper meat, while saving time in the drying process, according to a 2021 parliamentary report, co-signed by Richard Ramos.
In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization (WHO) classified processed meat, including deli meats, as carcinogenic (category 1). It would promote, among other things, colorectal cancers. Ingested nitrites are considered probable carcinogens (category 2A).
Awaiting ANSES’s opinion
The bill initially provided for a phased ban on these nitro additives by 2025. But it was rewritten in committee, under the leadership of the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie who wanted to move forward with “method”. He wants to wait for the opinion of the health agency Anses, which was planned for 2021 and then postponed to next June.
Thus, one year after the promulgation of the law, and according to the opinion of ANSES, a decree will have to set “a trajectory for reducing the maximum dose of nitro additives with regard to the proven risks for human health” . This decree may also “fix a list and a timetable” for prohibiting the marketing of products incorporating these additives. In addition, within eighteen months, specific labeling of these products will be developed.
“We will make sure to accompany the sector”, promised in the hemicycle all the speakers. “France produces the best pigs in the world,” also said Richard Ramos, who makes his own charcuterie as an amateur and whose “stubbornness” was praised by his colleagues.