FELIPE VI

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following law.

PREAMBLE

I

The food sector, due to its importance in social, economic and environmental terms, has a strategic character both in Spain and throughout the European Union. Its basic mission is to provide the citizen with healthy, safe food and to meet his expectations of quality. This situation demands a food quality model that includes a basic set of legal provisions and ensures respect for fair competition between operators.

In this sense, it is necessary to review both the general and the particular aspects of food quality in the field of the competence of the General Administration of the State, in order to take into account the new trends in this area which, in a specific manner, affects food; collecting and respecting, in the economic field, the basic principles and requirements of food law laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the principles and requirements of the (a) general food law, the European Food Safety Authority is established and procedures relating to food safety are laid down, taking into account also the principles laid down in the field of traceability, self-control, and responsibility of operators.

For the rest, the monitoring of compliance with the requirements laid down with a binding nature for the marketing of foodstuffs and the pursuit of fraud, as laid down in Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 European Parliament and the Council of 29 April 2004 on the official controls carried out to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law and the animal health and welfare rules of the Member States. animals, it is an essential element to guarantee the loyalty of the transactions The Commission has also been responsible for the development of the European Community's energy policy. Article 55 of the regulation provides for Member States to lay down rules on penalties applicable to infringements of food law and to take all necessary measures to ensure that they are applied in the Member States. implementation, indicating that the penalties laid down must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

On the other hand, this Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 refers, in order to extend its control system, to one of the main rules to which this law applies, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council European and Council of 25 October 2011 on food information provided to the consumer and amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing the Commission Directive 87 /250/EEC, Council Directive 90 /496/EEC, Directive 1999 /10/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council Commission Directive 2000 /13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008 /5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004.

The law focuses on the technical aspects of the technical-health regulations and the European Union and national regulations that regulate the characteristics of food or its production processes and that have essentially economic content to be aimed at trying to prevent food fraud and to improve the quality of goods placed on the market, superimposing on all of them common systems of self-control, accredited self-control, control administrative officer and sanctioning regime for its non-compliance. It also includes the optional labelling rules which, although not binding in the sense that they are binding on all operators, act as binding rules as to their conditions in the event that they decide freely qualify for the possibility of labelling those additional elements.

On the other hand, the State Security Forces and Corps have been actively involved in the inspection and control work in the food chain phases within the scope of this law and with identical purposes. In order to continue this activity of collaboration in official control, its presence is necessary in this text, following the recommendations of the European Union on the close collaboration with the Forces and the Security Corps. in the fight against food fraud.

This is without prejudice to the powers of the ministerial departments responsible for sanitary hygiene control, consumption or control of external trade, whose areas of action are not affected by this legislation.

The control of primary production is also not affected by this law unless a quality standard so provides.

II

The Royal Decree 1945/1983 of 22 June, regulating infringements and sanctions in the field of consumer protection and agri-food production, was adopted to comply with the parliamentary mandate of the agree on a plan of urgent measures to protect the health of consumers.

In the aforementioned royal decree, all the rules and provisions regarding the inspection and monitoring of the food activities and the punishment of the violations at that time were updated and recast. That is why the aforementioned royal decree brings together the defense of public health, the protection of the interests of consumers, and the legitimate demands of industry, commerce and services.

At present, the regulation of health violations, as set out in Article 2 of the aforementioned royal decree, is regulated independently in its own rules. In the interests of legal certainty and due to the need for a new sanctioning framework with current value and effectiveness, as well as the need to establish a unitary regulatory framework that is applicable to the entire national territory and ensures a Uniform treatment of all operators within the scope of this law has been deemed necessary.

Consequently, the application of the said Royal Decree 1945/1983 of 22 June 1983 for foodstuffs falling within the scope of this law, or the operators of such products in the stages, will not be carried out. from the food chain from the consideration of the product as food in accordance with the said Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002, to the processing, including wholesale and retail wholesale distributors, as well as transport between all of them, without forgetting the mercantile intermediaries with or without storage.

On the other hand, it must be borne in mind that there is a part of the aforementioned royal decree that is neither collected in this law nor is it repealed by other legislation. This part corresponds to the sampling and analysis, for which the provisions contained in Royal Decree 1945/1983, of June 22, will be applied, as long as this law is developed. It will also continue to apply in full to hygiene and food safety, as well as to products and services other than food.

As long as a procedure of its own is not developed, the sanctioning authority contained in this law will be exercised through the procedure established in Royal Decree 1398/1993, of 4 August, for which the regulation of the the procedure for the exercise of sanctioning powers.

III

Moreover, in recent years there has been a substantial increase in private quality certification systems. These certifications are based on internationally recognized standards, relying on the assurance that the products meet the requirements of a third party independent of the interests of the market operators and of the consumers: certification or inspection bodies. In many markets, this type of certification is becoming an essential condition for access to them.

These systems are also used to perform the verification of operator self-control and in this context the need for these inspection and certification entities to make a declaration is regulated in this law. responsible to the competent authority where they initiate their activity within the scope of their accreditation. This responsible statement is unique and valid for the entire national territory regardless of where the said declaration is made.

These systems of conformity assessment of foods in the voluntary field of quality, and the nature, characteristics and principles of the functioning of accreditation in the food sector, are established in the Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 laying down the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the placing on the market of products and repealing Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 Regulation (EEC) No 339/93.

Also in the field of quality and as a mechanism to ensure transparency in commercial transactions and balance in the commercial chain, Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council, COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 234/79 of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007, lays down the obligation of the classification of cattle and pig carcases, as well as the voluntary nature of each State Member of the application of the classification of carcases in the case of sheep and goats.

In order to ensure the correct compliance with the provisions laid down in Community legislation and for the sake of greater commercial transparency and legal certainty for operators, it is necessary to establish a system of specific infringements and penalties in this area, in the case of cattle and pigs, whereas it is not necessary for sheep and goats, since their application in Spain is not compulsory for the time being.

IV

In addition, food and beverage operators perceive that there is fragmentation of the market unit, having to face official control and sanctioning procedures, among others, different in each the territory where their companies are located, so the regulation contained in this law has as a reference the principles of guarantee of freedom of establishment and freedom of movement, enshrined in Law 20/2013, of December 9, guarantee of the market unit. The Constitution, on the one hand, recognizes in its article 38 the freedom of enterprise in the context of the market economy, urging the public authorities to guarantee and protect their exercise and the defense of productivity, in accordance with the requirements of the general economy and, where appropriate, planning. Furthermore, Article 139 of the Treaty provides that no authority may adopt measures which directly or indirectly impede the freedom of movement and establishment of persons and the free movement of goods throughout the territory of Spain.

Both of these principles inspire the aforementioned principles of guarantee of freedom of establishment and freedom of movement, which is an essential scenario for the competitive functioning of the Spanish economy, in which The food industry plays a key role, being one of the pillars of the Spanish Marca project.

These principles relating to the market unit acquire full significance in an area as important to the national economy as food production. To this end, the present rule is part of the existence of multiple and disparate autonomic norms, from whose existence a harmonious system is articulated that comes to constitute a minimum common denominator in which the different interests in the field in each of the autonomous communities. This common content is stated in a standard with legal status for the special normative needs that the control and sanction activity presents, thus guaranteeing the protection of the recipients and the correct distribution of competence.

In this line, this law transitions on the path of homogenization in the treatment of food businesses throughout the Spanish territory, regardless of the autonomous community where they settle, from the point of view of the quality control and enforcement of the sanctioning regime.

The control systems governed by this law come from the applicable European Union legislation, although it is necessary to systematize them into a single legal instrument with a basic character. The existence of different control mechanisms cannot in any case be an obstacle to the exercise of their activity, since no authority can take measures that hinder the free movement of goods or services.

V

In addition, in order to improve the coordination of the control exercised by the competent authorities in this field, the creation as a working group of the Food Quality Coordination Bureau, which is constitutes a basic instrument of cooperation between administrations.

The Bureau is the only possible means of cooperation with regard to the field of application of this law, in order to ensure the uniform application throughout the national territory of quality control and the only way to guarantee the fair competition from operators and consequently the unity of the market.

Spain, as a member of the European Union, performs coordination activities for the activities related to official control, which are provided by Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004, and which have to do with activities such as assistance between Member States and third countries in cases of fraud committed by Spanish companies in those and vice versa, the requirement to provide for dissuasive sanctions that have In the case of the fraud committed, the assistance by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment to the European Commission in its recommendations to tackle fraud at European level or the action of the authorities of the General Administration of the State in the implementation of the Exchange Network Information on fraud in the food field intended to be established by the European Commission, in the form of existing European networks.

VI

The law consists of four titles.

Title I, on general provisions, establishes the object, scope of application and the basic definitions necessary for the development of the object.

Title II regulates the food quality and control systems that apply in this respect, taking into account new trends in control that specifically affect food.

Title III lays down the basic sanctioning regime applicable to food quality control, making it possible to criminalise infringements committed by operators in relation to food law. rules of compulsory compliance by the competent authorities in each sector and in the applicable horizontal rules, as well as those contained in this law which are classified in the light, serious and very serious groups; and setting the limits of the penalties applicable in each case.

Finally, Title IV includes aspects related to collaboration and cooperation among the various public administrations in the field of this law.

The law is supplemented by four additional provisions, which include, respectively, the sanctioning regime for the classification of bovine and porcine carcases, the mutual recognition clause, the non-compliance with the increase in expenditure and the provision of a system to facilitate the knowledge of the quality regulations applicable in the field of law, a transitional provision which provides for the implementation of Royal Decree 1945/1983 to the field of regulated in this law, except two articles referring to sampling and analysis to be applied in Both the present law and the transitional application of the regulation for the exercise of the sanctioning authority and eight final provisions, respectively, which reflect amendments to Law 12/2013 of 2 August, are developed. measures to improve the functioning of the food chain, and to Law 87/1978 of 28 December on Agricultural Insurance Combined, enabling the Government to draw up quality standards, the title of competence, the power of development, the updating of sanctions and the entry into force.

It should also be noted that this law, in its preliminary draft stage, has been consulted by sectoral representatives from production to the food industry, including representatives of modern distribution and other actors in the food chain. All the Ministry of Agriculture of the autonomous communities with powers in official food control has also been consulted, as well as the reports of the Technical Secretariats General of the Ministries concerned and of the State Council.

Finally, this law for the defense of food quality is constituted as basic legislation in the field of bases and coordination of the general planning of economic activity, dictated by the provisions of the Article 149.1, rule 13. of the Spanish Constitution.

TITLE I

General provisions

Article 1. Object.

It is the object of this law to establish the basic regulation on the defense of food quality, including the sanctioning regime, in order to comply with the obligation laid down in Article 55 of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the official controls carried out to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law and animal health legislation and welfare of the animals or regulations that replace it, as well as the mechanisms for cooperation.

Article 2. Scope.

1. This law will apply:

(a) To all foodstuffs or foodstuffs as defined in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, the European Food Safety Authority is established and procedures relating to food safety, processed or unprocessed in Spain, are established, irrespective of the place of establishment of the operator in the national territory.

(b) In facilities for handling, sorting, factories, packaging plants, warehouses of wholesalers or wholesale distributors including the so-called logistics stores belonging to the modern distribution, warehouses of importers of food products, offices of commercial intermediaries with or without warehouse, as well as in the transport between them all.

2. They are excluded from their scope: hygiene and health aspects and food safety; the specific legislation of genetically modified organisms and the irradiation of foodstuffs; the supply for sale to the final consumer, including workers in retail facilities; foreign trade; primary production, including legislation on animal welfare and organic production.

Article 3. Finnish.

These are the purposes of this law:

a) Contribute to generating a high level of trust in food products through the necessary procedures to defend their quality.

b) Provide loyal conditions in the framework of their activity among food chain operators.

c) Protecting the rights of food industry operators and consumers by ensuring compliance with the general principle of veracity and demotrability of information on the labelling of food products. food products.

d) Contribute to market unity and competitiveness, in addition to the transparency and clarity of the Spanish food sector.

e) Ensure coordination of the control exercised over food quality by the competent authorities.

(f) To monitor that the processes of processing and processing of foodstuffs comply with the rules in force in the European Union.

g) Establish the necessary collaboration with the food industry to address issues that affect the objectives of this law.

Article 4. Definitions.

For the purposes of this law, the following definitions are established:

(a) Food or food: As laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002, it is any substance or product intended to be ingested by human beings. (a) whether or not they have been processed in whole or in part or not. It includes drinks, chewing gum and any substance, including water, voluntarily incorporated into the food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment.

(b) Food quality: A set of properties and characteristics of a food or food product related to the raw materials or ingredients used in their preparation, their nature, composition, purity, identification, origin, and traceability, as well as the processing, storage, packaging and marketing processes used and the presentation of the final product, including its effective content and the final consumer information in particular labelling.

These properties and characteristics will be the ones collected in the regulations of mandatory food quality dictated by the competent administrations in each sector, as well as in the horizontal regulations of application in the scope of this law.

(c) Operator: Any natural or legal person acting on the part of the food chain, covering the facilities listed in Article 2.1.b). The holders of the central wholesale supply markets (MERCAS) are not considered to be operators of the food chain, without prejudice to the consideration of the logistics wholesalers and operators, and (a) distribution that has its establishment in such markets or its areas of complementary activities.

TITLE II

Food quality control systems

Article 5. Food quality and its control.

Without prejudice to the official control established at the level of the European Union, quality control shall be carried out according to the following modalities:

(a) Official control performed by the competent authority.

b) Operator self-control, which may be verified by accredited inspection and certification entities.

(c) Self-control established by a specific sectoral association, where appropriate, on the operators of its sectoral scope.

d) Self-control established by a cooperative, if any, about its associates.

Article 6. Official control.

The official control shall be carried out by the competent authorities at each stage of the food chain comprising the facilities listed in Article 2.1.b) and in each of the following activities: receipt, handling, classification, procurement, processing, processing, packaging, storage and transport of food.

Article 7. Inspection and inspection record in official control.

1. The inspection shall be carried out by public officials who, in the performance of their duties, shall have the status of officials of the authority and may request the necessary support from any other public authority, as well as from the Forces. and Security Corps.

2. They may obtain as many documents as they deem necessary from the undertakings which they inspect in accordance with the objective pursued in the course of their action which, in any event, shall be of a confidential nature.

Inspection services may request the information they require from the public authorities ' bodies and their related or dependent bodies and entities, including, inter alia, joint ventures. public, professional and inter-branch organisations, which shall, where required for this purpose, provide the information requested to them in accordance with the rules applicable in each case.

3. The inspectors are strictly obliged to carry out the duty of professional secrecy. Failure to comply with this duty shall be sanctioned in accordance with the rules of discipline of public administrations where they provide their services.

4. In the case of inspection, the inspector shall draw up the minutes in which the data relating to the identification of the undertaking and the person to which the inspection is carried out shall be recorded, detailing all the facts which constitute the official control. and, where appropriate, the measures that have been ordered.

5. The facts established by officials to whom the status of authority is recognised, and which are formalised in the minutes by observing the relevant legal requirements, shall be of probative value, without prejudice to the evidence to be given to them. the respective rights or interests may be indicated or provided by the managed own.

6. Where in the exercise of its investigative actions it is necessary to enter the constitutionally protected address of the inspected, the Administration shall obtain the consent of that or the appropriate judicial authorization.

Article 8. Obligations of the persons concerned.

1. Natural and legal persons shall be obliged, at the request of the inspectors or any other competent authority, to:

a) Consense the conduct of the inspection visits and give all kinds of facilities to carry it out.

b) Provide all relevant information on facilities, products or services, allowing for direct verification by the inspectors.

c) Facilitate copying or reproduction of the referenced documentation.

d) Allow timely sampling of products or goods to be developed, distributed or marketed.

2. Where the competent public authority or the company has spontaneously provided statements or documents of any kind, they shall be signed by a person representing and obliging the undertaking.

The falsehood, as well as the constancy in such inaccurate or incomplete data documents, shall be sanctioned in accordance with the provisions of this law.

Article 9. Precautionary measures.

1. The inspection officers may, in a precautionary manner, immobilize the goods, products, packaging, labels or other elements which do not comply with the provisions relating to the offences referred to in Title III, both the purpose and the reasons for the precautionary intervention and, where appropriate, the measures to be taken to prevent their deterioration and to ensure their integrity.

2. The precautionary measures taken by the inspectors shall be confirmed, modified or lifted within a period not exceeding 15 days by the competent authority. In the case of perishable food, the inspector shall take account of the expiry of the perishable food, reflecting in the minutes the reduction of the period in a reasoned manner and adapted to its expiry. After the expiry of the said deadline, the initiation of a sanctioning procedure has not already been agreed.

3. Without prejudice to the application of paragraph 2 in respect of the express delivery in time and its effects, where a penalty procedure cannot be initiated for lack of competition on the grounds of the matter or the territory, immediately communicate to the appropriate authority, referring to the actions taken.

4. The competent authority in its actions may agree, without penalty, on the closure or temporary closure of undertakings, facilities, premises or means of transport which do not have the necessary authorisations or registers or have not carried out the responsible communications or statements, if they are subject to such obligation, until the defects are rectified or the requirements for the defects are met.

Article 10. Self-control and traceability.

1. Operators falling within the scope of this law must establish a system of self-monitoring of the operations of the production process under their responsibility in order to comply with the specific legislation and ensure the food quality of the products.

2. The self-control system shall at least have the following elements:

a) Documented procedures of the processes that are carried out in the enterprise.

b) A sampling and analysis plan.

(c) A traceability procedure in accordance with the requirements laid down by Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down general principles and requirements the European Food Safety Authority is established and procedures are laid down for food safety. In addition, where specific sectoral legislation so provides, operators shall have the internal traceability procedure described.

3. Operators should make available to the competent authorities all information relating to the self-control and traceability system itself, as well as the information derived or produced by it.

You must keep the information referred to and in your case the appropriate documentation at least six months after the date of minimum product duration or expiration date.

Where products have an expiry date of less than three months or no specified date and are intended for the final consumer, the information shall be kept for the six months following the date of expiry. manufacturing of the product in the industry or delivery in storage.

4. The sectoral or cooperative associations which establish systems of self-control in their field must draw up a procedure for this purpose and make it known to all the operators of the sector or partners of the cooperative entity, as well as to the competent authorities.

Article 11. Verification of the operator's self-control in food quality.

1. Where a standard of quality or legal or regulatory provision requires a verification of self-control by inspection or certification bodies, the specifications of quality figures governing their own control shall be excluded. In addition to complying with the conditions laid down in this Article, the said entities shall submit a responsible declaration to the competent authority in the territorial area where they commence their activity. The other competent authorities of other territorial demarcations shall be informed of this fact when they carry out their activity on their territory.

The responsible statement submitted shall be valid for operation throughout the national territory.

2. Inspection or certification bodies shall meet the following requirements:

a) Comply with the rules that the relevant sectoral legislation sets out.

b) To be accredited, for the specific activity to be performed, by the National Accreditation Entity (ENAC) in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008 (a) of 2008, laying down the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the placing on the market of products, and which has been successfully submitted to the peer evaluation system provided for in that Regulation.

(c) Communicate to the competent authorities of official control the possible breaches detected in the framework of the inspection or certification activities.

They must also keep the competent authority promptly informed of any suspension and withdrawal of accreditation or any impact on its activity.

TITLE III

Sanctioning Regime

Article 12. General principles.

1. Failure to comply with the provisions of the food law implementing the mandatory food quality standards dictated by the relevant administrations in each sector and the applicable horizontal legislation, as the precepts set out in this law, will be considered an administrative infringement, which will be qualified as minor, serious or very serious in accordance with the classification of offences carried out in this title.

2. The penalties applicable to infringements shall be those laid down in this Title according to their qualification.

3. Where the competent authorities or authorities in matters of food quality control appreciate in the exercise of their activity that there may be health risks, they shall transfer the relevant part of the action to the authorities. competent health authorities, which in this case will qualify the infringements according to the applicable health legislation.

Article 13. Minor infractions.

The following minor violations are considered:

1. Do not have in the establishment inspected the certificate of the official registration of the company, industry, establishment, installation, local, means of transport, activity, food product or raw material, ingredient or a substance for food processing and processing, where it is legally required to register, or not to display it in the local concerned in the form established.

2. Failure to submit records or records, statements relating to food or accompanying documents without justified cause, when required for inspection at inspection, or to be presented with inaccuracies, errors or omissions, where the difference between the quantity entered and the correct quantity does not exceed 15% of the quantity and the movements of the products may otherwise be demonstrated.

3. Not to have identified the tanks, silos, containers and any kind of packaging of bulk products or the products containing them, or their identification in an unclear or indelible form, and, where appropriate, not to indicate the nominal or other volume indications referred to in the implementing rules.

4. Failure to submit statements of stock, production or movement of products, or to present them incomplete, with inaccuracies, errors or omissions or to present them outside the regulatory period or where it is mandatory before the date of the execution of practices for the manufacture and processing of certain products, if the facts of the infringement do not affect the nature, quality, characteristics, composition, provenance or origin of the products consigned.

5. Incomplete provision of the necessary information or documentation for inspection and administrative control functions when required by the inspectors.

6. The expression of any of the compulsory or optional particulars of the labelling or presentation of the products, accompanying documents, commercial documents, records, labelling and packaging in a manner other than the regulatory or in which the particulars found are not authorised, as well as those which are not regulated or authorised which do not comply with the general principles of food information provided to the consumer.

7. Validate or authenticate the accompanying documents or commercial documents without the authorization of the competent body in the matter or not validate or authenticate them in the event that this procedure is mandatory.

8. A discrepancy between the actual characteristics of the food product or the raw material, ingredient or substance for the production and marketing of food and those offered by the operator if it relates to parameters or elements content is limited by the rules of application and the excess or defect does not affect its own nature, identity, regulatory definition, quality, designation or name of the product, provided the differences do not exceed the double the permitted tolerance regulentarily for the parameter or element that is treat.

9. Apply treatments, practices or processes in a manner other than that laid down in the applicable legislation, provided that they do not affect the composition, definition, identity, nature, characteristics or quality of food products or materials or elements for food processing.

10. Failure to comply with the precautionary measures, provided that it is a purely formal non-compliance, not classified as serious, including the physical transfer, without authorisation of the competent body, of the goods being held in a cautious manner, provided that the seals and the goods are broken out of the premises where they were intervened.

11. Failure to comply with the instructions on its activity emanating from the competent authorities in respect of the quality of the processing, processing, storage or marketing of food and of the requirements, obligations or obligations prohibitions laid down in the rules relating to food processing and marketing, including transport, provided that these are purely formal infringements not provided for in the following Articles.

12. Simple irregularities in the observation of the obligations laid down in the provisions in force in this law which are not included as serious or very serious infringements.

Article 14. Serious infringements.

Serious violations are considered as follows:

1. To carry out activities related to any of the stages of the processing, processing or marketing of food products or raw materials, ingredients and substances for food processing and processing without authorisation, exercise activities which do not expressly contain authorisation or carry out activities for which authorisation has been cancelled, or make substantial extensions or reductions, transfer, change ownership, change of registered office or close a food industry without the corresponding Record modification.

2. The lack of registration of products, raw materials or elements, when legally required such a requirement, in the form that for each of them would have been established.

3. Do not keep records or commercial registration books, have no matrix of sales invoices or other documents established by the existing provisions, have these documents with information that is not readable or understandable or manage them defective or not to keep records during regulatory time or not to have it documented by another equivalent system.

4. Do not have an annotation on the records after more than one month has elapsed since the date on which it was to be recorded for traceability purposes or when the seat or seats not registered have elapsed. cannot be justified by other documentation.

5. Inaccuracies or errors in the records or declarations laid down in the food law where the difference between the quantity entered and the correct amount exceeds 15% of the quantity concerned, or when, not exceeding, the difference between the quantity and quality, characteristics, composition, provenance or origin of the products.

6. Failure to submit, or to submit within the prescribed period, the declarations to be made in accordance with the applicable rules, prior to the execution of practices for the manufacture and processing of certain products, or to have inaccuracies, errors or omissions in the declarations, if the facts of the infringement concern their nature, quality, characteristics, composition, provenance or origin of the products consigned.

7. The installation or modification of the agricultural and food industries with non-compliance with the provisions in force for the regulation of these industries.

8. Not to have or not to carry a system of self-control and internal traceability, when it has an obligation to carry it because it is indicated by a specific sectoral regulation or not to have any of the regulatory elements in the system of insurance of traceability, such as identification, records and accompanying documentation of products, or not having sufficient and up-to-date traceability systems and procedures.

9. To defraud in the characteristics of food products or raw materials or ingredients and substances for food processing and marketing, especially those relating to their identity, nature, species, composition, content, description, regulatory definition, quality, wealth, weight, volume or quantity, excess moisture content, useful principles, fitness for use or any other existing discrepancy, between the actual characteristics and the characteristics offered the food operator, as well as any act of a similar nature involving a transgression or non-compliance with the provisions of the legislation in force.

10. Use or market food or raw materials or ingredients and substances for food processing and marketing not in accordance with the rules, which have been the subject of non-compliance with practices, processes or treatments authorised, having added or subtracted substances or elements modifying their composition and having products, substances, materials, equipment, machinery or elements not authorised by the specific legislation for activities related to the stages of food processing, processing or marketing or depositing products whose identity cannot be guaranteed by the presence and accuracy of the information on that product, in any installation or means of transport.

11. The holding or placing on the market of products in bulk without being authorised for this purpose, as well as substances not authorised by specific implementing legislation or for which possession or placing on the market is not authorised.

12. Possession in the premises of the agricultural and food industries of equipment, machinery or installations not authorised by the specific legislation for activities related to the processing, processing or marketing.

13. Placing on the market products, materials or elements without the corresponding labelling, accompanying documents, commercial documents, labelling, presentation, packaging, packaging or containers which are mandatory, or market them with information that leads to deception of the recipients or consumers.

14. Failure to demonstrate complete documentation of the accuracy of the information contained in the labelling, accompanying documents or commercial documents of foodstuffs, or those contained in the products used in their products processing or processing.

15. Use on the labelling of food products indications which are not in accordance with the marketing standards in force in the European Union and which set out in Section 1 of Chapter 1 of Title II of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 Parliament and the Council establishing a common organization of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 or with the terms of reference reserved optional or any other optional indication regulated by national legislation or of the European Union, or regulations replacing them.

16. Do not retain during the regulatory period the originals of the accompanying product accompanying documents and copies of the accompanying product accompanying documents.

17. To commit inaccuracies, errors or omissions of data or information on the labelling, accompanying documents, commercial documents, records, labelling, presentation and packaging, if these inaccuracies, errors or omissions refer to mandatory indications.

18. To modify the true identity of food products or raw materials or ingredients or any other substance for food processing and marketing to be used to identify them.

19. To induce confusion or deception with regard to food products or raw materials or ingredients or any other substance for food processing and marketing, as well as to be issued, or to be placed on the market, even in the case of the deception is known to the recipients, buyers or consumers.

20. To resist supplying data or to provide the information required by the competent bodies or the respective agents duly accredited, for the purposes of the functions of information, surveillance, investigation, inspection, processing and enforcement in the matters referred to in this law, and provide inaccurate information or false documentation, and in particular the following actions:

(a) Not to allow access to certain premises, facilities or transport vehicles.

b) Not to allow sampling or other types of product controls to be performed.

(c) Not to justify checks and controls carried out on products put into circulation.

(d) Not to provide at the time of inspection all documentation and data and information that the public administration official carrying out inspection duties needs to carry out his or her duties investigation, or not allow for its checking.

e) Not to provide the official who performs inspection duties, within the time limit, to the required data or information.

(f) Not to provide the documentation required by the official who performs inspection duties at the time of the inspection, or not to provide it within the prescribed period.

21. The handling, transfer or disposal in any form, without authorisation of the competent authority, of goods which are held in a cautious manner, provided that the seals are not breached, is not accredited as a health risk or if the goods do not leave the premises where they were intervened.

22. To market food products without the precautionary immobilisation being lifted, to mobilise the vehicles on a precautionary basis or to put in place an area, element or activity of the establishment cautiously suspended.

23. To market, purchase or purchase foodstuffs or raw materials, ingredients and substances for food processing and marketing, where such activities have been subject to precautionary suspension.

24. The insults and treatment not respectful of the official personnel carrying out inspection tasks, the auxiliary staff and, where appropriate, the instructors of the sanctioning files.

25. The recidivism in the same minor infringement in the last three years. The time limit shall begin to count from the day of the commission of the first infringement, where necessary for its application, the penalty decision, to become firm on an administrative basis, in the event of an appeal administrative.

Article 15. Very serious infringements.

The following are considered very serious violations:

1. To commit serious infringements that result in serious health damage or have served to facilitate or cover them up.

2. To commit serious infringements involving the extension of the alteration, the adulteration, the falsification or the fraud to be carried out by third parties to which the substance, the means or the procedures for making them are provided, cover them or masking them.

3. The recidivism in the same serious infringement in the last two years. The time limit shall begin to count from the day of the first infringement commission, where it is necessary for its application that the penalty decision becomes final on an administrative basis.

4. Absolutely refuse to take action on public inspection services.

5. To coerce, intimidate, threaten or mistreat the official personnel carrying out inspection duties, the auxiliary staff, if any, the instructors of the sanctioning files, the staff of the management bodies or the institutions of the control, or exercise any other form of severe pressure.

6. To supply food or raw materials, ingredients or substances which are not permitted or prohibited for the manufacture of the products for which they are authorised, to food industries, for consideration or free of charge. industries.

7. Falsification of products or the placing on the market of counterfeit products, as long as they are not a criminal offence.

8. The handling, transfer or disposal in any form, without authorisation, of goods which are held in a cautious manner, provided that the seals are breached, is accredited as a health risk or the goods leave the facilities where they were intervened.

Article 16. Concurrency of violations.

1. Where two or more offences relating to the defence of food quality are found to be attributable to the same subject, the same shall be imposed as a joint sanction for the most serious infringement, to its maximum extent, without any exceed that which represents the sum of which it would be necessary to apply if the infringements are separately sanctioned in which case, where this limit is exceeded, the infringements shall be punished separately.

2. Where two or more infringements are found to be of a kind in the consumer protection law or in the case of the defence of the food quality in which the identity of the subject is assessed, made and substantiated, in no case shall it be possible sanction both. To this end, in accordance with Article 25, sufficient coordination shall be established between the competent authorities in both matters.

3. Where the infringements detected are observed, the possible existence of a criminal offence will be observed, the fault of the competent jurisdiction will be passed on, and the sanctioning procedure will not follow as long as the judicial authority does not give judgment. firm, take place the dismissal or file of the proceedings or produce the return of the file by the tax ministry.

Article 17. Liability for infringements.

1. The natural or legal persons and communities of property that incur the actions or omissions that have been classified as an infringement of this law shall be liable for the infringements.

2. Unless the rules of the European Union provide for a different regime, infringements in packaged products shall be liable to the signatures or social reasons, including the distributor, which appear on the label, either nominally or by means of any indication that permits their identification. The exception of cases where falsification or poor preservation of the product by the holder is demonstrated, provided that the conditions for storage are specified in the labelling.

In addition, the manufacturer, manufacturer or packer and the distributor who is not on the label shall be in charge if it is proved that he knew the offence committed and that he gave his consent.

In the event that the labels have been falsified, the responsibility will be for the counterfeiter and the people who knowingly market the products to the counterfeit.

3. For infringements in bulk products, or packaged without a label, or where no signature or social reason is included on the label, the holder shall be responsible, except where the liability of a holder can be identified in a certain manner above, and without prejudice to the liability of the current holder, including the distributor.

4. Where compliance with the obligations laid down in this law corresponds to several persons together, or if the offence is attributable to a number of persons and it is not possible to determine the degree of participation of each person, respond in solidarity with the infringements which, where appropriate, are committed and the penalties imposed.

5. The technicians responsible for the preparation and control of infringements directly related to their professional activity shall also be responsible.

6. The administrative responsibility for the infringements covered by this law shall be subject to civil or criminal liability which, where appropriate, may be required of its officials, the latter being the last priority, the proceedings being brought to a standstill. administrative penalties when it is appreciated that the facts are also constitutive of crime or when criminal proceedings are being carried out on the same facts, in accordance with Article 16.3.

7. Without prejudice to the penalties provided for, the persons responsible for the infringements shall be obliged to compensate for the damage which has been caused and which shall be determined by the competent authority to impose the penalty, Cases the injured party to the consideration of the person in the procedure.

Article 18. Accompanying measures.

Where goods, products, packaging, labels or other elements related to the infringement have been taken into account, the authority to which the sanctioning procedure is to be resolved shall agree to its destination. In any event, the costs incurred by the alternative destination, destruction or forfeiture shall be borne by the infringer, including the compensation to be paid to the owner of the goods seized when he is not the offender.

Article 19. Periodic penalty payments.

1. Where the person concerned does not fulfil the personal obligation laid down in this law or does so in an incomplete manner, periodic penalty payments may be imposed in order to ensure that the obligation is fully complied with, in the cases provided for in Article 99.1 of Law 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure.

The penalty payment shall be EUR 100 for each month of delay where the obligation is not related to the value of the goods and 1% of the value of the goods for each month of delay when the obligation imposed is related to this.

2. In the event of non-compliance with the obligation, periodic penalty payments shall be imposed on a frequency of at least three months until the total compliance with the penalty to which they relate.

3. The periodic penalty payments shall be independent and compatible with the penalties provided for by the offence committed.

Article 20. Penalties.

1. The penalties to be imposed by the competent authority in its field shall be:

a) The minor infractions will be sanctioned with warning or fine of up to 4,000 euros.

(b) Serious infringements shall be punishable by a fine of between EUR 4,001 and EUR 150 000.

c) Very serious infringements will be sanctioned with a fine between 150,001 and 3,000,000 euros.

(d) The penalty imposed in no case may be lower in its amount to the unlawful benefit obtained by the commission of the infractions.

2. The body responsible for resolving may impose any of the following measures as a sanction:

(a) Correction, security or control measures that prevent continuity in the production of damage.

b) Disregard of the unidentified products or of the goods, products, packaging, labels or other non-compliant items.

c) Temporary, partial or total closure of the company sanctioned for a maximum period of five years.

(d) The withdrawal from the market of the counterfeit product, where the infringement relates to falsification of the product by substitution of the species, variety or race.

Article 21. Graduation of sanctions.

For the specific determination of the penalty imposed, among those assigned to each type of infringement, the following criteria shall be taken into consideration:

a) The existence of intentionality or simple negligence.

b) The concurrence of several irregularities or violations that are sanctioned in the same procedure.

c) The nature of the damage caused, in particular the detrimental effect that the infringement could have had on consumers ' economic interests, prices, consumption or, where appropriate, the prestige of the Differentiated quality protection figures.

d) The volume of sales or production and the position of the infringing company in the sector.

e) The recognition of the infringement and the underhealing of the fault or its effects before the corresponding sanctioning procedure is resolved.

f) The volume and value of the goods or products affected by the infringement.

Article 22. Advertisement of the sanctions.

For example, or in the event of a recurrence of offences of a similar nature or an intentional infringement, the authority that resolves the file may agree to the publication of the sanctions imposed. as a consequence of what is established in this law.

In order to carry out such a measure, the necessary time shall be expected until the time limit for the appeal is met; if the appeal is not filed, the said publicity shall be given.

When there is an interposition of a litigation-administrative appeal, the sanction will be expected to have acquired firmness in judicial headquarters.

The advertising shall include the names, surnames, names or social reasons of the natural or legal persons responsible and the nature and nature of the infringements, which shall be inserted in the "Official Gazette of the State", the bulletin of the relevant autonomous community where the offender has his or her social reason, and in the social media deemed appropriate.

The publication of these penalties shall be carried out at the latest within three months of notification of the determination of the resolution.

Article 23. Ancillary sanctions.

1. Irrespective of the penalties imposed, the competent authorities may propose, in their field of competence, for serious and very serious infringements, the abolition, cancellation or suspension of all or part of any official aid, such as loans, grants and others which have been requested or requested in the future by the approved undertaking within five years. The competent authority shall decide in this respect in accordance with the circumstances which, in each case, shall be met, including the time to maintain such deletion, cancellation or suspension.

The offenders will be included in a database of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, which will be fed by the data incorporated by the autonomous communities and the Ministry itself. exclusive consultation of the bodies concerned and of which the offender will be discharged once the relevant period has passed, provided that the offender has satisfied the amount of the penalty imposed. The data to be included in the list shall be established in a regulated manner. They will be preserved with the degree of confidentiality required by the Organic Law 15/1999, of December 13, for the protection of personal data.

2. In the case of serious and very serious infringements, the competent authority to impose the sanction, irrespective of the sanction, shall disable the undertakings or operators sanctioned to contract with the public authorities, in whole or in part, for a period of five years.

3. The firm sanctions will be immediately implemented in accordance with the provisions of Law 30/1992 of 26 November.

4. The penalties provided for in this law shall be compatible with the loss or withdrawal of economic rights provided for in European Union legislation.

Article 24. Prescription and expiration.

1. Very serious infringements and sanctions will be prescribed at six years, the serious ones at four years, and the mild ones at two years.

2. For the purposes of calculating the time limits for the limitation of infringements and penalties, the provisions of Article 132 (2) and (3) of Law No 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 shall be taken into account. In the case of continued infringements, the limitation period shall start from the moment of the completion of the activity or of the last act with which the infringement is consumed. In the event that the facts or activities constituting an infringement are unknown because they are not external signs, the time limit shall be computed from the fact that they are manifest.

3. The maximum period for resolving the sanctioning procedure and the notification of the relevant decision shall be one year from the opening of the procedure unless the autonomic rules set another higher.

4. The absence of a decision within that period shall entail the expiry of the file and may be reopened, provided that the infringement has not been prescribed, the taking of samples, the analyses carried out and the acts, documents and formalities which have been carried out. content has remained the same as the previous procedure has not expired.

5. The action to pursue the infringements shall lapse when, known to the Administration, the existence of an infringement and the measures taken to clarify the facts have been completed, which in the case of an act with the taking of samples consider the date of the initial analysis bulletin, after more than one year without the competent authority having ordered the initiation of the appropriate procedure.

TITLE IV

Cooperation between administrations

Article 25. Collaboration and cooperation in the exercise of control.

1. Public administrations and their related or dependent public bodies, in accordance with the rules applicable in each case, shall act in a coordinated manner and shall cooperate with each other in order to make effective the actions of the control and enforcement of the penalties provided for in this law.

In particular, they shall cooperate and cooperate with the relevant administrations in the field of the protection of food quality and consumer protection.

In the exercise of their duties the competent authorities in matters of inspection and control may request the necessary support from any other authority, the Civil Guard and, where appropriate, any other Force and Body of Security.

The competent authorities in the field of quality control and defence against fraud shall provide mutual administrative assistance in the control and sanctioning procedures.

2. In order to improve the effectiveness of the development of control procedures and to contribute to maintaining market unity and loyalty in commercial transactions, the Food Quality Coordination Bureau is set up as a working group. to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, which shall be composed of representatives of the General Administration of the State and the autonomous communities responsible for the control of the food quality. They may be invited to cooperate, where the matter so requires, or when they need to present a question concerning them, the representative associations of the food sector, in particular the food industry and other associations or entities.

This Bureau, which will be chaired by the Director General of the Food Industry, will carry out and develop the studies and technical work related to:

(a) The coordination of official control actions for the defense of food quality, including the programming of official control actions and the organization of inspection campaigns.

b) The establishment of common criteria for the interpretation of food law.

c) The elaboration of an annual report of results of official control activities for the defense of food quality.

d) The dissemination of food law.

e) The organization of training activities of officials who carry out official control.

f) The development of documented procedures relating to official control for the protection of food quality.

g) The performance of quality control analysis in the food chain as a whole.

h) Promoting food quality.

3. In order to achieve the objectives listed above, the IT application of restricted access to the Information Network of the Food Quality Control System (RICAL), which is made available to the quality inspectors of the communities, is used. the documentation generated by the Food Quality Coordination Bureau.

4. The sectoral associations which carry out self-control activities, as provided for in Article 5 (c) of this Law, shall inform the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment and the competent authorities of the communities concerned. (a) to ensure that the competent authorities are able to take appropriate measures in order to ensure that the competent authorities concerned are able to take appropriate measures.

5. The coordination bureau, in its creation and operation, shall be assisted with the personal, technical and budgetary resources assigned to the higher or steering body in which it is integrated.

6. In order to achieve maximum coordination in the work which the various public administrations concerned are responsible for, the operational procedures and the exchange of information and the procedures for the exchange of information will be established. documentation, to be followed by those public administrations in cases of inspections or dossiers involving operators from more than one Autonomous Community, or to respond to the request for assistance in controls developed by competent public administrations of other Member States or developing the necessary work in the framework of control plans promoted by the European Union.

Article 26. Duty of information on official control.

1. The regional authorities responsible for the official control of food quality shall send the necessary information on these checks to the unit of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment responsible for their coordination. where it is required, on the dates and deadlines to be determined at the Food Quality Coordination Bureau, in accordance with the relevant documented procedures, with the aim of achieving effective coordination in the field of quality The European Commission will be able to inform the European Commission of the effectiveness of control in Spain and provide such information in a uniform and up-to-date manner.

2. The overall result of these documents will be available in the aforementioned Information Network of the Food Quality Control System (RICAL) for all registered users, both state and regional.

3. A Food Quality Information Exchange Network (RIICA) shall be established between all the competent authorities of official control, including the nature protection service of the Civil Guard, in order to provide for the suitable instruments for managing any impact in the field of quality, with the effectiveness and the agility required in this type of action throughout the national territory. This Coordination Network shall be related to the Information Exchange Network which creates the authority of the European Union on the monitoring of food fraud.

4. The competent authorities of the autonomous communities shall inform the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment of the measures taken as a result of the information they receive from the associations ' self-monitoring activities, which is set out in the preceding Article 4 (4

.

Additional disposition first. Sanctioning regime for the classification of bovine and porcine carcases.

1. The system of penalties for non-compliance with the applicable rules for the classification of carcases of bovine animals, pigs, as derived from Article 10 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 2013, establishing the common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007, shall be as set out in this provision.

2. The following are minor violations:

a) Carry out a fairing of the channel other than any of the permitted according to the specific regulations.

b) Do not mark the channel, or mark it without indicating all the mandatory mentions.

(c) In the case of bovine carcases, use different presentations than the reference ones without applying the correction coefficients established for this purpose to adjust the weight of the carcases. In the case of pig carcases, use different presentations to the standard presentations set out in Royal Decree 1028/2011 of 15 July laying down detailed rules for the classification of the pig carcases. pigs.

(d) Not to inform the supplier of the animals, and, where appropriate, the farmer if so requested, of the result of the classification with express indication of the category and weight, together with the correction coefficients applied.

e) The concurrency of repeated errors when determining the weight or classification of the channel, understanding as such at least a number of 20 detected during the inspection visit.

3. The following are serious violations:

a) Do not perform the channel classification in cases where it is mandatory.

(b) In the case of bovine carcasses, no classifier with the current authorization to perform the classification shall be among its staff hired at the time of the inspection. In the case of the grading of pig carcases, no classification teams are authorised in accordance with the rules in force.

c) Do not perform the records set in the specific channel classification regulations or do not keep records about the channel classification the time set in the specific rules.

d) Mobilize the paralyzed channels cautiously.

e) The reiteration of three minor faults for any reason or recidivism of two minor faults for the same cause in the last three years.

4. The following are very serious violations:

a) Refusing to the performance of the public inspection services.

(b) To exercise, coerce, intimidate or threaten the personnel of the Administration carrying out inspection duties, the instructors of the sanctioning files, the personnel of the management bodies or the entities of the control, or exercise any other form of pressure on them, provided that such actions do not constitute a criminal offence.

c) Alter the result of the channel classification.

(d) Manipulate, transfer or have any form of merchandise that is cautiously immobilized with violation of the seals, or if the goods leave the premises where they were intervened without the authorization of the competent body in the matter.

e) The reiteration of three serious faults for any reason or recidivism of two serious faults for the same cause in the last three years.

5. The penalties to be imposed by the competent authority in its field shall be:

a) The minor infractions will be sanctioned with warning or fine of up to 4,000 euros.

(b) Serious infringements shall be punishable by a fine of between EUR 4,001 and EUR 150 000.

c) Very serious infringements will be sanctioned with a fine between 150,001 and 3,000,000 euros.

6. In the case of a serious or very serious infringement commission, the competent authority to resolve may impose any of the following measures as a sanction:

(a) Correction, security or control measures that prevent continuity in the production of damage.

b) Ignoring channels.

Additional provision second. Mutual recognition clause.

This law shall not apply to food products lawfully manufactured or marketed in accordance with other specifications in other Member States of the European Union, nor to those originating in the countries of the Association. European Free Trade (EFTA), neither contracting parties to the Agreement of the European Economic Area (EEA), nor to States which have a customs partnership agreement with the European Union.

Additional provision third. Commitment to no increase in expenditure.

The measures included in this law may not result in an increase in appropriations or remuneration or other personnel costs.

Additional provision fourth. Provision of a system to facilitate knowledge of mandatory food quality standards.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, in order to facilitate the knowledge of the regulations of mandatory food quality dictated by the competent administrations for each sector, will articulate a a system for the regular production of a list of these rules for information purposes.

Single transient arrangement. Transitional period.

1. Royal Decree 1945/1983 of 22 June 1983 regulating infringements and penalties in the field of consumer protection and agri-food production will not apply to the regulated aspects in the field of this law, except for the Articles 15 and 16, which shall continue to apply as long as this law is regulated.

2. As long as there is no proper sanctioning procedure, the general procedure laid down in Royal Decree 1398/1993 of 4 August, which is adopted by the Rules of Procedure for the exercise of the powers, will apply. Sanctioning.

Final disposition first. Amendment of the preamble and of Article 2 of Law 12/2013 of 2 August of measures to improve the functioning of the food chain.

One. The seventh paragraph of Part III of the Preamble shall be worded as follows:

" Also, the scope of Chapter I of Title II of this Law is limited to the commercial relations of operators engaged in commercial, continuous or periodic transactions, the price of which is higher to EUR 2,500, provided that they are in one of the following situations of imbalance: "

Two. Article 2 (3) shall be worded as follows:

" 3. The scope of Chapter I of Title II of this Law is limited to the commercial relations of traders engaged in commercial transactions, the price of which is greater than EUR 2,500, provided that they are in any of the the following imbalance situations: "

Final disposition second. Amendment of Law 12/2013 of 2 August of measures to improve the functioning of the food chain.

An additional fifth provision is added with the following wording:

" Additional disposal fifth. Infringements and penalties for the traceability of fishery products not falling within the scope of Law 3/2001 of 26 March on the Maritime Fisheries of the State.

The holding, consignation, transport, transit, storage, processing, exhibition and sale, in any of the legally provided forms, of fishery products not included in the scope of Law 3/2001, of 26 March, of the State Maritime Fisheries, which do not comply with the requirements of traceability, labelling, hygiene or consumer information required by the current regulations will be classified as a serious infringement and punished with pecuniary sanction of 601 to EUR 60,000. "

Final disposition third. Amendment of Law 87/1978 of 28 December of Combined Agricultural Insurance.

The second additional provision is modified, which is left with the following wording:

" Additional Disposition Second. Direct grant.

State contributions to the overall amount of premiums to be met by farmers shall be granted directly to farmers, as provided for in Article 22.2.b) of Law 38/2003 of 17 November 2001. of grants, relating to the procedure for granting grants. "

Final disposition fourth. Quality standards.

The Government is enabled to adopt quality standards for food products, with the aim, among others, to adapt to the European Union's regulations, and to simplify, modernise and value existing rules as well as to improve the competitiveness of the sector, including the advances produced by technological innovation.

Final disposition fifth. Competence title.

This law is dictated by the provisions of Article 149.1.13. of the Constitution, which attributes to the State competence on the basis and general coordination of economic planning.

Final disposition sixth. Faculty of development.

The Government is authorized to dictate how many provisions are necessary for the application and development of this law.

Final disposition seventh. Sanctions update.

The government is authorized to update by royal decree the amounts of the sanctions established by this law.

Final disposition octave. Entry into force.

This law shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this law.

Madrid, 30 July 2015.

FELIPE R.

The President of the Government,

MARIANO RAJOY BREY