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How to report a breach?

If it detects a possible breach of the Food Chain Law, you can communicate it by following the instructions and the procedure detailed below. The infringements that this law contemplates and can sanction are those included in its article 23.

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Notice

To ensure an effective and expeditious treatment of your complaint, please read the Competence section before submitting it. It details the cases in which the General Administration of the State is competent and those in which the Autonomous Community will be responsible for acting.

AICA is competent to carry out the appropriate checks on complaints of non-compliance with the provisions of Law 12/2013, of 2 August, on measures to improve the functioning of the food chain.

It has the power to impose sanctions within the scope of its powers (General State Administration).

  • When the parties to the commercial relationship in which there is a possible breach have their headquarters in different Autonomous Community.
  • Due to the predictable traceability. That is, when the intended destination for the products sold by the operator under investigation covers a clear supra-autonomous area.
  • When one of the parties to the commercial relationship in which there is a possible breach does not have its main registered office in Spain.

In the event that the non-compliance affects operators of a single Autonomous Community, it is up to the Executing Authority of that community to act.

You can consult here the list of Regional Enforcement Authorities.

In cases where one of the operators is established in Spain and the other is not, they may file the complaint either with the executing authority of their own Member State or with AICA O.A.

To find out the list of Community Implementing Authorities, go to Unfair trading practices - Agriculture and rural development, and see the section “ Enforcement authorities”

The complaints may be filed:

  • Through the AICA website, www.aica.gob.es
  • Through the electronic registry of the General State Administration (https://reg.redsara.es), addressed to the Food Information and Control Agency, O.A.
  • Through regular registration of the Public Administrations, addressed to the headquarters of the Food Information and Control Agency, O.A.
  • In the own register of the Food Information and Control Agency, O.A. (C/ Infanta Mercedes, 31. 4th floor – 28020 Madrid).
  • A través de las restantes formas de presentación que se recogen en el Article 16.4 of Law 39/2015, of the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.

It is important to keep the following information in mind in order to properly process your complaint.

In order for the complaint to be admissible, it must contain the following aspects:

  • Express identification of the complainant.
  • Express identification of the respondent.
  • Clear and specific explanation of the facts that are being reported, accompanied by the necessary proof documents (contracts, invoices, delivery notes, correspondence, etc. ).
  • Specific dates on which such activities have taken place, situations, circumstances, possible breaches, etc.

In AICA, the complaint and the annexed documents will be treated strictly confidentially. The performance of checks will be carried out ensuring maximum protection for whistleblowers, so that its identification as such is not possible. In addition, all officials who take part in the actions of control, inspection or processing of sanctioning files, have the legal obligation to keep secret about the facts and any information of a confidential nature they have had knowledge of. Likewise, those who knew them by reason of profession, position or intervention as a party, even after they ceased to hold office, shall be kept secret from such actions.

For more information, see the Article 29 of the Chain Act.

The interested party (who denounces) has the right to know the status of the processing of their complaint in the terms and deadlines established in the article 29 of the Chain Law. AICA will inform the complainant of the initiation or non-initiation of the sanctioning procedure in their case.

From time to time, AICA may request more information from the complainant to complete its knowledge of the potential breaches reported.

Law 12/2013, of 2 August, measures to improve the functioning of the food chain

Royal Decree 227/2014, of 4 April, approving the Statute of the Food Information and Control Agency.

Royal Decree 66/2015, of 6 Februarywhich regulates the system of controls to be applied by the Food Information and Control Agency, provided for in the Law 12/2013, of 2 Augustmeasures to improve the functioning of the food chain.