The keys to the new Food Chain Law

For the third time in less than two years there is a far-reaching legislative change in the most important law for the Spanish food sector. On December 15, Law 16/2021 was published in the BOE, which modifies, once again, Law 12/2013, of measures to improve the functioning of the food chain (known as the Food Chain Law or LCA).

The last two years have been a true revolution for the regulations that regulate procurement in the food sector. Before this last change, there had already been two other recent ones. In the first place, the one generated by Royal Decree-Law 5/2020, of February 25, with far-reaching changes. And, a few months later, a second change through Law 8/2020.

This latest reform of the LCA, the one operated through Law 16/2021, has the main stated purpose of transposing into the Spanish regulation of the food chain the requirements of Directive (EU) 2019/633 of the European Parliament and of the Council , of April 17, 2019. Although, once again, Spanish law goes far beyond the requirements of the directive and continues to establish requirements and obligations outside of it that could be, in some cases, not very compatible with the principles functioning of the internal market.