Briefing
Santander, 12 October 2026 — The Dirección General de Comercio y Consumo of the Gobierno de Cantabria has highlighted the region’s involvement in official food inspections under the Plan Nacional de Control Oficial de la Cadena Alimentaria (national plan for official controls of the food chain) for the 2025 reporting year. Across Spain, a total of 40,665 official inspections were carried out in 2025; Cantabria describes itself in the statement as an active partner in these coordinated actions.
The regional administration specifies a team of nine specialists, seven of whom work as specialist inspectors. Inspections in Cantabria focused in 2025 on oil, fish and fishery products, eggs and egg products, food for special dietary uses, food supplements, ready meals, protected designations of origin and organic products. Inspections focused in particular on labelling, composition and compliance with legal requirements.
The authority lists strengthening market transparency, preventing fraud and ensuring fair competition for legitimate businesses as overarching objectives. Alongside inspections, the directorate emphasised the importance of training: according to the administration, several training sessions took place in 2025, including courses on risk assessment for consumer products, new forms of selling and advertising in the digital space, and complaints management, with participant numbers given by name.
The Plan Nacional de Control Oficial de la Cadena Alimentaria is based on European food law; its national implementation and coordination between the ministry and the autonomous communities are governed by Real Decreto 562/2025 Accordingly, the ministry and regions share responsibilities depending on product group and distribution channel, while common standards and exchange mechanisms are intended to improve the comparability of inspection results.
The statement provides no detailed information on penalties or specific case numbers in Cantabria. The region therefore focuses mainly on preventive measures, transparency, and staff training and professional development to protect consumers and ensure fair competition in the food market.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).