Food Safety Records in Spain: Laws, Inspections and APPCC

Spanish food safety records explained: the law, regional inspections, APPCC, allergens, records inspectors ask for and how digital records help.

2026-10-31 · Chef Hygiene

Do food businesses in Spain need food safety records? Yes. Every food business in Spain must have a food safety system based on HACCP principles (in Spanish, APPCC), with records that fit the size of the business. Spain has no national inspection service for restaurants. The autonomous communities (regions) and town councils inspect, and the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) coordinates national policy. Spain has no national public hygiene rating or sticker. This page explains the Spanish rules, what inspectors look for, where businesses go wrong, and how digital records help.

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Every fact below comes from an official source, linked in the text and at the end. Spain's rules are applied by each region, so procedures can differ from one region to another. Where we could not confirm something, we say so and suggest you ask your local authority. The app works in Spanish, and in 40 languages in total, so staff can record checks in the language they know best.

## Contents

The law: what every Spanish food business must do
Who inspects you, and how often
No national rating
The records inspectors ask for
Where businesses go wrong
By type of business
Why digital records help in Spain
How Chef Hygiene helps
A fair price, on purpose
Less paper
FAQ
Official sources

## 1. The law: what every Spanish food business must do

The main laws. EU Regulation 852/2004 on food hygiene, and Real Decreto 1086/2020, as amended by Real Decreto 1021/2022, which sets flexibility and hygiene rules for retail food, including restaurants and takeaways (consolidated text, BOE). Allergen information for loose food is set by Real Decreto 126/2015.
Register your business. The national register of food companies is the RGSEAA (Real Decreto 191/2011), run by AESAN (AESAN: registro sanitario). Real Decreto 1021/2022 amends the register rules so that retail establishments register with their regional authority after submitting a declaración responsable (a signed declaration). That declaration does not itself grant authorisation. The name of the procedure and the forms differ by region, so we could not confirm one national step-by-step route. Ask your regional health department or town council before you open.
A HACCP-based food safety system (APPCC). You need permanent procedures based on HACCP principles, with records that fit the size of the business, kept for an appropriate period (Regulation 852/2004, Article 5). Real Decreto 1021/2022, Article 20, says retail establishments must create, apply and maintain a permanent HACCP-based procedure and appoint a responsible person.
Temperatures (Real Decreto 1086/2020, article 30). These are in the law:
Chilled food with a shelf life over 24 hours: 4°C or colder. With a shelf life under 24 hours: 8°C or colder. These refer to the product's internal temperature.
Frozen food: -18°C or colder.
Hot holding: serve as soon as possible, unless the food is chilled, frozen or kept at 63°C or hotter.
Cooling: food made hot and intended for chilling or freezing must go from 60°C to 10°C in the core in under two hours.
Reheating: at least 74°C in the core for at least 15 seconds, within one hour of leaving the fridge. Lower temperatures are allowed if the time and temperature combination is microbiologically equivalent. Reheated leftovers must be thrown away, not reheated again or stored.
Other holding temperatures are allowed if you show the authority they are based on scientific evidence. We found no core cooking temperature in Spanish law.
Control samples. Businesses that serve care homes, school canteens, hospitals, transport, events, or orders for more than 40 people must keep labelled, dated control meals for at least seven days, with at least 100 g per portion, kept at 4°C or colder or at -18°C or colder (article 30).
Freezing food. If you freeze food, keep records of the product, quantity, old and new use-by dates, freezing date and destination if donated. A label can replace the record if it holds all this information (Real Decreto 1021/2022, article 5).
Staff training. The owner must make sure staff are trained in food hygiene for their work (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II). The food handler card (carné de manipulador) is no longer compulsory under national law since Real Decreto 109/2010 (BOE). Some regions or town councils may still ask for proof of training, so ask your local authority.
Staff who are ill. Anyone with diarrhoea, vomiting, jaundice, a sore throat with fever or an infected skin wound must not handle food if there is a risk of contamination, and must report it to management at once (Regulation 852/2004, Annex II, Chapter VIII).
Allergens. For loose food (not prepacked), the 14 EU allergens must be declared (Regulation 1169/2011, Annex II). Under Real Decreto 126/2015, article 6, the normal rule is written information on labels or signs near the food. Spoken information is allowed in some cases: staff must be able to give it easily on request before purchase, free of charge, and it must be recorded in writing or electronically in the business where staff, inspectors and customers can easily reach it. A visible notice must say where the information is or tell customers to ask staff. This notice is not needed if labels or signs sit next to the food. Where meals are specially adapted for allergic customers, the notice is not needed, but the information must be available on request. The information must be at least in Castilian Spanish (article 10). For distance sales, such as phone and app orders, the information must be available before purchase and at delivery (article 9) (Real Decreto 126/2015, BOE).
Traceability. Keep supplier and delivery records so you can trace food one step back (Regulation 178/2002, Article 18).
Fines. We did not read an official page giving fine amounts, so we give none. The next section says how faults are graded.

## 2. Who inspects you, and how often

Regions and town councils. The autonomous communities (such as Catalonia, Madrid and Andalusia) and town councils carry out the on-site inspections. Each region has its own health department (AESAN).
AESAN does not inspect restaurants. It coordinates national food safety policy and gives guidance.
How often. We could not confirm an official national visit schedule. Regions publish their own control plans, so ask your regional health department.
What an inspector may check. Your registration, your APPCC system and records, cleaning, pest control, staff training, traceability, temperatures and allergen information.
What can happen. Faults are graded as minor, serious or very serious. A minor fault can bring a warning or a fine. Serious faults can bring corrective action, higher penalties and temporary closure (cierre cautelar). The owner can appeal. Regional laws set the details, so ask your authority for the rules in your region.

## 3. No national rating

No national rating. Spain has no public hygiene rating, sticker or star scheme for restaurants.
Some regions publish results. Some regions or town councils publish inspection results online, but this is not the same across Spain, and we could not confirm a full list.
What this means for you. There is no score to improve, but an inspection still matters: a serious fault can bring closure. Good records show an inspector that your system works every day.

## 4. The records inspectors ask for

The law asks for records that fit your business. National guidance and the usual APPCC plans cover:

Temperature records for fridges, freezers, hot holding, cooking, cooling and reheating.
Delivery and supplier records for traceability.
Cleaning and disinfection records, and what you did about problems.
Pest control records. Pest control should be done by a company registered in the ROESB register. Keep its registration, its staff training certificates and its treatment reports.
Staff hygiene and training records: names, dates, topics and trainer.
Allergen information for every dish: a recipe or ingredient file showing which dishes contain which allergens.
Freezing records (if you freeze food), and control samples where they apply.
A review of the plan when the business changes.

How long to keep them. Spanish law gives no fixed period that we could find. The EU rule is "an appropriate period". Ask your regional authority if you want a number.

## 5. Where businesses go wrong

Common record problems are easy to picture:

Gaps. Days with no checks written down.
A plan that does not match the kitchen. A system on paper that staff do not follow.
No action recorded. A fridge above 4°C with nothing written about what was done.
Cooling not shown. Cooked food that should go from 60°C to 10°C in under two hours, with no record of the time.
Reheating below 74°C with no reading.
Lost or damaged pages. Paper gets wet, greasy or thrown away.
Training not shown. Staff were trained, but nothing proves it.
Allergens only by word of mouth. Spoken information is allowed only with a written record on site and a visible notice.
Not registered. Opening without the regional registration step.

## 6. By type of business

The rules are the same for every food business, but the records you keep depend on what you do.

Restaurant: daily checks, cooking, hot holding and cooling, deliveries, cleaning, and allergen information for every dish.
Takeaway: the same as a restaurant, plus allergen information before purchase and at delivery for phone and app orders.
Café: fridges and displays, cleaning, and allergen information for sandwiches and cakes. Food packed at the buyer's request counts under the allergen rules.
Bakery / cake shop: allergen records for every product, display temperatures for cream cakes, and labels for goods you pack.
Dessert shop: fridge and freezer temperatures, freezing records, and allergens for toppings and sauces.
Pub / bar / club: the same records as a restaurant for food you serve, and allergen information for every dish.
Community hall / venue: if you serve food as a business, register through your region. Keep temperature and cleaning records for each event.
Corner shop / grocery: fridge and freezer checks, delivery checks, and allergen information for food you pack yourself. If you supply other shops, Real Decreto 1021/2022 asks for a declaration and records of recipients, quantities and dates.
School / nursery kitchen: school canteens must keep control samples for at least seven days. Keep temperature and cleaning records and careful allergen records for every child.
Caterer / food van: register through your region and keep temperatures in transport and at the event. Ask your region about vehicles and stalls.
Home kitchen business: Real Decreto 1021/2022 has rules for home-based preparation, including a declaration to the regional authority and a weekly limit. We could not confirm the full conditions, so ask your regional authority before you start.

## 7. Why digital records help in Spain

Accepted in the EU. The European Commission's guidance on HACCP flexibility (notice 2022/C 355/01) supports records in the form that suits the business. We could not find a Spanish page that says the same, so ask your authority if you are unsure.
No gaps go unnoticed. A missed check shows up the same day, not at the next inspection.
Problems come with their fix. When a reading is out of range, the record can ask what you did about it.
Nothing is lost. No wet, greasy or missing pages.
Ready for the inspector. You can show everything at once, instead of looking for folders.
Every staff member can take part. Staff can record checks on a phone or tablet, in their own language.

## 8. How Chef Hygiene helps

Chef Hygiene follows the Spanish rules, including Real Decreto 1086/2020 and Real Decreto 126/2015. What it does:

Daily checks for fridges, freezers, cooking, hot holding, cooling, cleaning and deliveries, with the time, the staff member's name and photos. Saved records cannot be changed; corrections are added as new records.
Your country's rules built in, such as the 4°C, 63°C, 74°C and cooling numbers from Spanish law.
Food safety plan ("safe methods"). About 20 minutes: answer questions, check each method, sign it, set a review date and print it. Earlier versions are kept.
Ready for inspection? Checks your last 4 weeks of records the way an inspector would and shows how many are ready.
Inspector's visits log. Write down each visit: date, type and officer.
Practice inspection. A free walk round of about 10 minutes, with questions for your type of business and a "Put it right" list. It shows a likely result in the style of Spanish inspections.
Allergen chart and labels. Every dish against the 14 allergens, a staff view on the kitchen tablet, and labels for food prepacked for direct sale, with allergens in bold.
Staff training records.
Inspector pack. Print all your records as one pack, or share them by secure link.
40 languages. Staff can use the app in their own language.

## 9. A fair price, on purpose

Chef Hygiene costs €2.99 a month per site (€1.99 for bakeries, dessert shops and corner shops); the exact price is shown in your app store; unlimited staff, no contract, 14-day free trial.

We keep the price low on purpose. We want as many food businesses as possible, from a single food van to a busy restaurant, to keep good records and pass inspections.

## 10. Less paper

A paper diary means printed sheets every day. One daily sheet per kitchen is 365 sheets a year, before you count delivery forms, cleaning rotas and training records. Digital records mean no record books to buy and fewer printed forms to throw away. That is less paper and less waste, and nothing to store in a back office.

## 11. FAQ

### Do I legally need food safety records in Spain?

Yes. You need a system based on HACCP principles (APPCC), with records that fit the size of your business (Regulation 852/2004, Article 5).

### Who inspects restaurants in Spain?

The autonomous communities and town councils. AESAN coordinates national policy but does not inspect restaurants.

### Do I have to register before I open?

Yes. Retail establishments register with their regional authority after a signed declaration (declaración responsable). The procedure differs by region, so ask your region.

### Is there a hygiene rating in Spain?

No national rating or sticker. Some regions or town councils publish results.

### What happens if an inspector finds faults?

Faults are graded minor, serious or very serious. They can bring a warning, a fine, corrective action or temporary closure. The owner can appeal.

### Do my staff need a food handler card?

Not under national law since Real Decreto 109/2010. The owner must make sure staff are trained. Some regions may ask for proof, so check locally.

### What temperature must my fridge be?

4°C or colder for chilled food kept over 24 hours; up to 8°C for food with a shelf life under 24 hours (Real Decreto 1086/2020, article 30).

### What temperature must hot food be kept at?

63°C or hotter, unless the food is chilled or frozen.

### How fast must I cool cooked food?

From 60°C to 10°C in the core in under two hours.

### What temperature must I reheat food to?

At least 74°C in the core for at least 15 seconds, within one hour of leaving the fridge. Never reheat leftovers again.

### Are digital food safety records accepted?

EU guidance supports records in a form that suits the business. We could not find a Spanish page that says so directly, so ask your authority if you are unsure.

### How long must I keep my records?

Spanish law gives no fixed period that we could find. The EU rule is "an appropriate period".

### What allergen information do I need?

Information on the 14 allergens for loose food, normally written near the food. Spoken information is allowed with a written record on site and a visible notice. At least in Castilian Spanish.

### Does the allergen rule apply to phone and app orders?

Yes. The information must be available before purchase and at delivery (Real Decreto 126/2015, article 9).

### Can staff work when they are ill?

Not if they have diarrhoea, vomiting, jaundice, a sore throat with fever or an infected wound and there is a risk of contamination.

### Do I have to keep control samples?

Only for care homes, school canteens, hospitals, transport, events or orders for more than 40 people: at least seven days, 100 g per portion.

### How much does Chef Hygiene cost in Spain?

€2.99 a month per site (€1.99 for bakeries, dessert shops and corner shops); the exact price is shown in your app store; unlimited staff, no contract, 14-day free trial.

## 12. Official sources

Chef Hygiene keeps your Spanish food safety records ready for every inspection:

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

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Use it in your browser