Public Policy Evaluation: the Case of the Green Prescription (POLVERT)

Evaluating Public Policy: A Case Study of the Green Prescription POLVERT (Green Policy - Evaluation and Results)

Numerous studies have highlighted the harmful effects of pesticide exposure during the prenatal period. Food is one of the main vectors of exposure to pesticides, particularly glyphosate, which is the most widely used herbicide. Observational studies have highlighted their effects on health, but few interventional studies have been conducted to identify effective interventions to reduce or eliminate environmental risks. In 2022, the City of Strasbourg implemented the "Ordonnance Verte" (Green Prescription) program, giving all pregnant women in the city access to a weekly basket of organic and local vegetables for several months, as well as awareness-raising workshops on endocrine disruptors and healthy eating. The objective of this study is to assess whether this type of program reduces pregnant women's exposure to pesticides compared to women who continue to eat according to their usual habits. If conclusive, this type of assessment would play a key role in facilitating the rollout of similar initiatives on a larger scale and protecting the health of pregnant women and future children.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Pregnancy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Consumption of organic vegetables

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 210
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Virginie COLLIN-BUND, MD; Phone Number: +33 3 88 12 63 41; Email: virginie.bund@chru-strasbourg.fr

Study Locations

• France
  • Strasbourg, France, 67000
    • Recruiting
    • Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg
    • Contact: Virginie COLLIN-BUND, MD; Phone Number: +33 3 88 12 63 41; Email: virginie.bund@chru-strasbourg.fr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Be a woman
• Be less than 32 weeks pregnant
• Be registered with the "Ordonnance Verte" program
• Have agreed, when registering for the program, to be contacted by a research team
• Be affiliated with a social security system or be a beneficiary of such a system.
• Be fluent in French.
• Be over 18 years of age
• Be able to understand the objectives and risks associated with the research and give dated and signed informed consent
• Have a telephone and internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participation in a study on nutrition or any other studies likely to affect exposure to the compounds under investigation
• Inability to provide informed consent (difficulties in understanding on the part of the pregnant woman, etc.)
• Being under judicial protection
• Being under guardianship or conservatorship
• Working in the agricultural sector (farmer, employee, apprentice)
• Living with someone who works in the agricultural sector (farmer, employee, apprentice)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control; Vegetable consumption according to habits
Experimental: Intervention; Consumption of organic vegetables	Behavioral: Consumption of organic vegetables; Consumption of organic vegetables or non-organic for control group (according to their usual habits) for 2 weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in urinary pesticide concentrations over the two-week study period in the intervention group	Measured as the difference in pesticide levels before and after the intervention	Day 0 and at 2 weeks
Difference in urinary pesticide concentrations between the two groups	Measured as the difference in pesticide levels in intervention vs. control groups	Day 0 and at 2 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Hospital, Strasbourg, France

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 10, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 14, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 14, 2025
• First Posted (Estimated): November 18, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 19, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 18, 2025
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Pesticides; organic vegetables
• Other Study ID Numbers: 9588 (CTEP)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No