Food laws of individual member states have mostly been fully harmonized into EU law. However, it is important to note that when EU-wide legislation is incomplete or absent, Spanish laws apply and imported product must meet existing Spanish requirements.
Food and beverage products originating in the United States do not require any special Spanish permits and are not subject to special rules or regulations regarding retail sale in Spain. However, all products must comply with the generally applied rules and regulations required for any food and beverage product sold within the EU market. Spain’s food regulations apply to both domestically produced and imported food products.
In Spain, the Food Safety and Nutrition Law (Law 17/2011) published in July 2011, outlines the basic Spanish food and feed regulations. This law is based in EU regulations and directives and includes the traditional food safety aspects of detection and removal of physical, chemical and biological hazards as well as other less conventional issues such obesity prevention and food advertising rules.
