On March 13th, the French General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs, and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) presented its 2024 activity report. Against a backdrop of deep-seated agricultural crisis, the department announced that it had stepped up its checks on food products "in order to combat the franking of imported products." Out of the 10,000 inspections carried out last year in the food sector (fruit and vegetables, meat and alcohol), an "anomaly rate of 34%" was detected.
© DGCCRF Sarah Lacoche, director of DGCCRF, at a press conference
10,000 checks on the French origin of food products carried out in 2024
In 2024, DGCCRF carried out 10,000 checks on the French origin of food products, particularly in the fruit and vegetables, meat, and alcohol sectors. These inspections were stepped up following the strong mobilization of farmers. "The checks were carried out both at the distribution stage, to guarantee consumer information, and throughout the marketing chain, in order to investigate any signs of fraud more thoroughly." Inspections revealed a 34% anomaly rate, leading to the issuing of 1,802 warnings, 588 injunctions, and 562 penalty notices.
© DGCCRF "More than 10,000 checks on the origins of agricultural products were carried out in 2024 and more than 16,000 checks during the Olympic Games (shops, hotels and restaurants)," according to Véronique Louwagie, French minister for Trade.
The case of francized red fruits
At the press conference, the director of DGCCRF recalled the case of the francized red fruits. In 2024, a wholesaler in the Loir-et-Cher region was fined nearly €100,000 [107,661 USD] for lying about the origin of his products. "Investigations established that between 2019 and 2021, this operator had lied about several thousand tons of red fruits, reselling them to supermarkets and hypermarkets throughout France," according to the DGCCRF 2024 press release. The cases of francization concerned 4,547 tons of strawberries, 278 tons of raspberries, and 194 tons of blueberries.
© DGCCRF
Controls on French origin: A "priority renewed in 2025"
"The pressure will continue," announced Sarah Lacoche on the subject of food controls. "Respect for the French origin and francization have been a government priority for several years now, and this priority will be renewed in 2025."
Véronique Louwagie also announced at the start of her press conference that she wanted to move "towards more targeted controls" using artificial intelligence. "We need to take advantage of new technologies to be able to target and act more effectively. The aim is to enable the authorities to carry out fewer checks, perhaps, but to tackle the root of the problem by concentrating staff on long-term investigations that will make it possible to trace back channels and punish fraudsters in line with the practices observed."
For more information:
DGCCRF
economie.gouv.fr