Modifications to the Plant Health Law in Spain

On April 2, 2025, Law 1/2025, of April 1, on food loss and waste prevention ("Law 1/2025"), was published in the Spanish Official State Gazette.

The purpose of this law is to prevent and reduce food losses and waste by all agents in the food chain, establishing a hierarchy of priority solutions and addressing the objective of a responsible production and consumption food system as outlined in the 2030 Agenda.

Law 1/2025 introduces new developments in plant health in Spain, as it amends Law 43/2002, of November 20, on plant health ("Law 43/2002").

Specifically, Law 1/2025 incorporates a new article (Article 9 bis) into Law 43/2002, which allows the authorities to order the destruction of those plantations or crops, plants and their products, as well as related material, species or varieties that are intended to be introduced into the Spanish market, when these authorities have evidence that they do not comply with the applicable phytosanitary regulations for their production (unless it is deemed appropriate to adopt other less burdensome but equally effective alternative measures). This destruction measure would apply, for example, in the event that an operator introduced into the Spanish market plant products for whose production active substances not authorized in the European Union had been used.

Precisely, to ensure that this destruction measure is adopted by operators when necessary, Article 56.c of Law 43/2022 is also amended, so that it will now constitute a very serious infringement for operators not to adopt these measures to prevent the introduction of pests of extraordinarily serious nature into Spain.

These modifications to Law 43/2002 represent progress in the fight against the introduction into the European Union through Spain of plant products for whose production non-authorized active substances at the European level have been used.

The retroactive entry into force of Law 1/2025 is foreseen from January 2, 2025.