The Conta-Lait study by the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) and the 2024 report by the French High Council for Public Health (HCSP) on breastfeeding, highlight the presence of contaminants in breast milk, a finding consistent with international data. Understanding the presence of these contaminants equires monito-ring the exposure and contamination of women of childbearing age during pregnancy and breastfeeding. These contaminants originate in various environmental sources, including food, outdoor and indoor air, cosmetics, household products and occupational exposure. This review summarises the sources responsible for the exposure of the population, including breastfeeding women, and outlines actions and recommendations to improve protection.
Citizen radioactivity measurement emerged in the wake of the Chernobyl accident in the late 1990s, so that local populations could assess the radiological quality of their environment and develop measures to protect themselves against the potential harmful effects of radioactivity on their health. Following the Fukushima accident in 2011, there was renewed interest in citizen radioactivity measurement activities, encouraged by the possibilities around sharing information through the internet and social networks. There are currently several citizen radioactivity measurement networks in Europe, some of which were created in response to societal demand following the Fukushima accident. However, these networks face challenges in gaining credibility with decision-makers. They must respond to doubts about the reliability and representativeness of measurement results and published data. The long-term sustainability of these networks is another major challenge. This article reviews the landscape of these European networks, the way in which they are responding to these challenges and the avenues to be explored to ensure their sustainability.
French regulations allow different categories of bottled waters to be marketed, particularly natural mineral waters and spring waters, which must comply with certain criteria to ensure their purity and to prevent any risk to the consumer. During 2025, consumers were extensively informed about various quality issues with some of these waters, due to treatments that were at least questionable in relation to the regulations in force. The purpose of this article is to review these various categories of bottled waters, their chemical and microbiological composition, their potential evolution, and the treatments generally authorised, as well the difficulties encountered by certain brands. The situation is not fully understood, as authorities and bottling companies provide barely any information. It is clear that although the quality of the marketed product does not compromise consumer health, the information provided could be better.
Guadeloupe:-year Free-living amoebae (FLA) play a central role in natural and artificial ecosystems as microbial predators and as reservoirs and vectors of opportunistic bacteria. While most free-living amoebae are harmless, some species, such as Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba spp., are pathogenic to humans and have recently been classified as emerging microorganisms due to climate-related environmental changes and their impact on water quality. The islands of Guadeloupe, characterised by a wide variety of aquatic and terrestrial environments, provide a unique setting for studying the distribution, diversity, and potential virulence of these organisms. This article presents a comprehensive review of fifteen years of research on FLA in Guadeloupe, including environmental monitoring of water and soil, investigations of amoeba-bacteria ecological interactions, and advances in the genomics and biology of Naegleria fowleri. The implications for public health and future research priorities are also discussed.
