Food safety
Together with nutrition, food safety is a fundamentally important issue all around the world. Nowadays, people increasingly want to know about the products they eat and drink and legitimately expect not only to be safe from real risks but also also to feel safe and protected from constant suspicion (Catalan Food Safety Plan 2011-2015).
In this sense, pursuant to the provisions on food safety in the Law 18/2009, of 22 October, on public health , local councils have powers in preventing the health risks associated with food in retail sale establishments, restaurants, local food production and the urban transport of food products.
The Barcelona Provincial Council's Public Health Service offers technical and financial support to local councils to contribute to the development of these powers.
- Lines of support for town halls
- Resources
- Documents
- Quality circle
- Regulations
- Useful links
- COVID-19
If you are a private person, please contact your town hall
Economic resource
Application form for financial support for Food safety
- Deadline for applications: from the 28th september 2023 to the 8th february 2024
- Link to the General conditions for management and justification of financial support:
Contact person:
Alba Llorens
ssp.aliments@diba.cat
Technical support
- Monitoring and control of food establishments. For municipalities up to 10,000 inhabitants.
Application period: from 28th December 2023 to 31st December 2024
Contact person:
Isabel Carceller
ssp.aliments@diba.cat
- Food safety advice. For municipalities over 10,000 inhabitants or minors who do not receive the previous support of Monitoring and control of food establishments.
Areas:
- Advice to newly incorporated municipal technical staff for official control visits to food retail establishments in various sectors.
- Punctual advice to municipal technical staff in carrying out inspections in retail establishments that involve some type of complexity.
- Punctual advice to municipalities without technical staff to carry out inspections in retail establishments in case of complaint.
- Other
Application period: from 28th December 2023 to 31st December 2024
Contact:
Mireia Colom
ssp.aliments@diba.cat
Magda Bertran
ssp.aliments@diba.cat
Food security resources
- National Food Chain Official Control Plan (PNCOCA)
- Guide to food establishments. Barcelona Public Health Agency.
- Diagram of the sanctioning administrative procedure (ordinary and simplified), applied in the field of municipal food safety powers, and models of the administrative documents that form part of the different phases of the procedure.
- Registration criteria for food retail establishments in Catalonia. Updated in September 2012 [PDF. 376 Kb]
- Applicability document. Updated November 2012 [PDF, 379 kB] .
Document explaining how to apply the registration criteria.
- Applicability document. Updated November 2012 [PDF, 379 kB] .
- Data sheets on the hygiene and sanitary conditions of food retail establishments
Reference documents intended for municipal technical personal and food company operators, providing the most significant data concerning hygiene and sanitary conditions that food retailers and catering establishments must meet and the legislation regulating these conditions. - Protocols for the control and classification by sanitary risk of the food establishments subject to municipal jurisdiction..
Documents that enable systematic assessment of the sanitary conditions of the food establishments subject to municipal jurisdiction.
- Guide for the performance of self-inspections in food retail establishments
Templates for simplified self-inspection plans designed for operators of food retail and catering establishments, in order to implement the prerequisites. These are concise, practical forms that are very easy to complete and may provide a very useful tool in helping food operators comply with their obligation to implement self-inspections. - Tool "Food Labelling Information System". European Commission.
Useful documents
- Questions and answers about Royal Decree 1021/2022 regulating certain requirements for hygiene of the production and marketing of foodstuffs in retail establishments AESAN. 13th march 2024
- What is botulism? ACSA. 2024
- Kebabs
- Good practices for kebab making. ACSA i ASPB. 2024
- Infographic "Good practices for kebab making". ACSA i ASPB. 2024
- Brief report on d-ner kebabs and recommendations for safe preparation and cooking. Public Health Agency of Barcelona (ASPB). 2023
- Listeriosis:
- Useful life of food ready for consumption sliced or cut and packaged before sale in retail establishments AESAN. 13 March 2024
- Expiration date on sliced products, prepackaged in retail trade. ACSA 2023
- Indication of the expiration date (safe shelf life) on cooked, sliced sausages, prepackaged in the retail trade. ACSA 2022.
- The control of Listeria monocytogenes in the kitchens of at-risk communities. ACSA 2020.
- Prevention of listeriosis in bars, restaurants, food stores and collective dining rooms. ACSA 2020.
- Cleaning and disinfecting the slicers is key to preventing listeriosis . ACSA 2019.
- Listeriosis. ACSA 2018.
- Information for consumers:
- Criteris i procediments per establir la data de consum preferent en aliments no peribles. GENCAT i IRTA. November 2022
- Mandatory food information for packaged food in the retail trade. ACSA 2022
- Do you know what information should be included in the labeling of your cheese?. ACSA 2022.
- Informació d’al·lèrgens en els establiments de restauració. ACSA 2018.
- Eggs:
- 100 preguntas sobre el huevo. Instituto de Estudios del Huevo 2022.
- Retail sale of eggs in bulk. ACSA. 2020
- Conditions of Preservation of fruits cut in half in establishments of retail trade. Report of the Scientific Committee of the Spanish Security Agency Food and Nutrition (AESAN). February 2022.
- Good hygiene practices in food transport. ACSA 2021.
- Industrial dishwashers. ACSA 2021
- Safe use of food:
- Questions and answers to ensure food security in food donations and use. ACSA 2021
- Guidelines on food safety management systems for food retail activities, including food donation. European Commission 2020
- Extension of the date of consumption of foods. Criteria for safe use.
Opinion approved by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Food Security in April 2018. - The dates help you not to waste food. ACSA 2018.
- Analysis of dangers in small retail establishments and for the donation of food
Translation of AECOSAN into Spanish of the two scientific opinions of the EFSA. 2017 and 2018 - Guide to good hygiene practices for the use of food surpluses. Community of Madrid. Madrid City Council 2017.
- Consumption of algae:
- Recommendations on the consumption of hiziki algae for its content in inorganic arsenic. AESAN. 2021
- Consume algae in moderation. infographics. ACSA. 2021
- Study of the presence of heavy metals and iodine in algae intended for human consumption. ACSA. 2020
- Acrylamide:
- Acrylamide in food. ASPB 2020.
- Acrylamide. ACSA 2018.
- Self-inspections and analysis of dangers:
- Guidelines on food safety management systems for food retail activities, including food donation. European Commission 2020
- Analysis of dangers in small retail establishments and for the donation of food
Two scientific opinions of the EFSA translation of the Spanish of AECOSAN. 2017 and 2018 - Simplification of prerequisites in certain food retail establishments. February 2013.
This document identifies the establishments to which simplified prerequisites can be applied and specifies the minimum criteria of the prerequisites defined in the self-inspection guide for Catalonia. - Guide for the performance of self-inspections in food retail establishments
Templates for simplified self-inspection plans designed for operators of food retail and catering establishments, in order to implement the prerequisites. These are concise, practical forms that are very easy to complete and may provide a very useful tool in helping food operators comply with their obligation to implement self-inspections. - Self-inspections in food establishments: The prerequisites
Intended to inform operators of food establishments about the measures required to prevent health risks from the environment.
- Recommendations for the consumption of leafy vegetables for the child population due to the presence of nitrates. AESAN. 2020
- Flexibility measures
- Guideline document on exceptions for food with traditional characteristics under Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005. Spanish Food Safety and Nutrition Agency. 2019
- Framework document on flexibility in the application of hygiene regulations in food establishments in Catalonia. Public Health Agency of Catalonia. Department of Health. 2014.
- Do you want to sell food on the internet?. AESAN. 2019
- Guidelines on good hygiene practices (GGHP), self-inspections and documents related with good practices
To help local councils promote implementation of the self-inspection in different food sectors. - Raw or semi-raw fish:
- The safe preparation of Sushi. ACSA
- Fish and seafood. Food safety tips. ACSA 2018
- Recommendations for the safe preparation of Suchi. ACSA 2015
- Disinfection of raw vegetables:
- Treat raw milk safely . ACSA 2018.
- Consume tuna safely . ACSA 2018.
- Fish and seafood. Food safety tips. ACSA
- Five Keys to Safer Food Manual
WHO document targeting food safety instructors, divided into two sections: the first provides reference material and the second explains the five keys to safer food, expanding on the basic information given in the WHO poster Five Keys to Safer Food.
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Useful links
- Catalan Food Safety Agency (ACSA)
- Health Food. Government of Catalonia (ASPCAT)
- Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB)
- Spanish Agency for Consumption, Food Safety and Nutrition (AECOSAN)
- Spanish Society of Food Safety (SESAL)
- European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
- Catalan Association of Veterinary Hygienists (AVHIC)
- Food hazard map. Risk Governance Research Centre (GRISC) and Catalan Food Safety Agency
Guides and recommendations
- Reforç de les mesures d’higiene i manipulació per al sector minorista d’alimentació i restauració comercial en situació de pandèmia del virus SARS-CoV-2. Barcelona Provincial Council. Revised June 3, 2020.
- Resum de les pràctiques recomanades als establiments minoristes i restaurants durant la pandèmia de la COVID-19. Infographics. Barcelona Provincial Council.
More information regarding COVID-19 on the specific website.