Spain Update: New Regulation applicable to retail establishments of food products

On December 22, Royal Decree 1021/2022, of December 13, which regulates certain requirements regarding hygiene in the production and marketing of food products in retail trade establishments, came into force.

This standard establishes the legal framework applicable to food retail establishments, such as supermarkets, fishmongers, butchers, restaurants, prepared food establishments, etc.

The regulation contained in the aforementioned most remarkable Royal Decree deals with the following aspects:

• Temperatures at which some foods must be refrigerated.
• Conditions for freezing, thawing and refreezing food.
• Requirements to be met by tasting areas of retail establishments.
• General requirements for food donation by retail establishments, as well as specific requirements for egg donation.
• The possibility of continuing to sell food that presents defects provided that it does not affect the safety of the same and the requirements applicable in such case.
• The obligations of those responsible for supplying food vending machines, both in terms of identifying them and obligations with respect to the food contained therein.
• The regulation for the first time of the requirements that must be met by those who prepare food in their home for direct sale to consumers.
• The procedure for granting flexibility measures in the field of hygiene in retail trade establishments.
• Laying down adaptations to food retail establishments in relation to the use of certain materials from the food contact surfaces in relation to certain traditional production methods.
• Requirements that must be met by the packaging provided by customers for use in retail food establishments, as well as the reasons why establishments can deny the use of them. With a practically identical regulation, Royal Decree 1055/2022, of December 27, on packaging and packaging waste, recently approved, regulates in article 9.3 the possibility for consumers to use their reusable containers in those establishments that sell food or beverages in bulk.

Focusing on this last point, Royal Decree 1021/2022 establishes the obligation that the reusable container provided by the client is suitable for contact with food and is in adequate hygiene conditions. It rightly exempts the operator of the retail food trade establishment from liability for any safety problems that may arise as a result of the use of the reusable container. However, we consider that operators should be particularly cautious about verifying that the container complies with the requirements of suitability of the container, rejecting the use of the container if it finds that the container provided by the consumer is not suitable.

In this regard, it is recalled that containers suitable for contact with food must comply with the labelling obligations provided for in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No. 1935/2004 of 27 October 2004 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food, i.e. they must include the words “for contact with food” or the symbol of the cup and the holder. Although Article 15 itself establishes that the above indications are not mandatory for objects that, due to their characteristics, are clearly intended to come into contact with food, for a criterion of prudence we consider it advisable not to accept the use of packaging that is not identified as suitable to come into contact with food.

By Marta Valls and published at ABCD Legal, Marimón Abogados, Spain, a Transatlantic Law International Affiliated Firm.  

For further information or for any assistance please contact spain@transatlanticlaw.com

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