Question 10198 — agri-food

Summary

Mr. Édouard Bénard questions the Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty about the worrying presence of hexane detected in various food products. Derived from petroleum refining, hexane, a recognized neurotoxicant and suspected of reproductive toxicity, has been used (except organic farming) almost universally since the post-war period to optimize the process of crushing seeds in order to maximize the yield of oil pressing operations as well as cakes used for animal feed. In a report published in September 2025, the non-governmental organization Greenpeace France indicates having detected the presence of hexane on 36 products following tests carried out by the joint measurement center of the Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale (ULCO), on 56 products purchased in supermarkets (oils, poultry, products dairy, infant milk). A presence which is almost systematic in oils, butter and milks, including infant milks. Hexane residues have also been found to a lesser extent in chicken flesh. Hexane, considered a “processing aid” by European regulations, is not subject to any labeling requirements and therefore does not appear on the packaging of the products concerned. The regulations in force insufficiently regulates the presence of these residues in consumer products. In fact, this is based on toxicological data from 1996 provided by manufacturers and whose validity in terms of health protection is today called into question. Thus the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) judges in its 2024 report that this study is insufficient and inadequate. In addition, the regulations does not provide any constraints on the presence of hexane in certain major products in our food and very seriously underestimates the exposure of consumers to this substance. Likewise, current regulations authorize without restriction the presence of hexane in animal feed, its reporting being obligatory only once a quantitative threshold common to all chemical residues has been crossed. But during the industrial process of separating vegetable oil from oleaginous seeds or fruits, 30 to 60% of the hexane losses are found in the resulting solid material which is used as a major ingredient for animal feed. Hexane is then assimilated by livestock and remains in products of animal origin sold commercially. This hexane contamination is documented by a recent INRAE ​​study (national research institute for agriculture, food and the environment) as well as by the study commissioned by Greenpeace France. The use of this petrochemical solvent, unknown to the general public and a blind spot in health risk assessment, is today at the heart of an immense agro-food ecosystem ranging from the cultivation of oilseeds, to animal feed, through the industrial processing of seeds. This ecosystem is dominated in France by the Avril group, which has a turnover of 7.7 billion euros and whose chairman of the board of directors is also the head of the National Federation of Farmers' Unions. According to Greenpeace France, the Avril group represents more than half of the seeds crushed in France to extract the oil. 93% of these same oils would be crushed with processes using hexane. It appears essential to relaunch research into the chronic toxicity of hexane, the 1996 study being obsolete, and to carry out analyzes in order to assess the health impact on the population in order to more restrictively adjust the thresholds for exposure to the solvent in food, or even to outright ban it in the extraction process of oils and cakes sold in France. Likewise, he It would be appropriate to integrate the display of processing aids on the labels of food products for reasons of transparency and consumers' right to information. Consequently, he asks him to communicate to him the initiatives that the Government intends to take on this subject which affects the food security of the French.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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