Opening a restaurant in Spain: the food safety checklist

What this checklist covers, and what it doesn't

Everything below is about keeping food safe and being able to prove it to an inspector. It does not cover the *licencia de apertura* (activity licence), fire safety certificates, terrace permits or accessibility rules, because those depend on your town hall and the kind of premises, not on food safety law. Sort those separately, in parallel with the steps here.

1. Register the business

Before you serve a single plate, the business itself needs to be registered as a food operator. The exact registration depends on your activity and region, and it's easy to mix up the national RGSEAA with your local authority's own registry. We cover the difference in food business registration in Spain.

2. Put your HACCP plan in writing

HACCP (APPCC in Spanish) is the core food safety system every kitchen in the EU has to run, built on prerequisite plans (cleaning, pest control, water, training) plus the hazard analysis itself. What APPCC actually means for a Spanish kitchen walks through what has to be written down before you open, not just followed informally.

3. Get a pest control (DDD) contract in place

Pest control is one of those prerequisite plans, not an optional extra, and it has to be carried out by an authorised company, not handled in-house with shop-bought products. Pest control requirements for a food business in Spain covers who's allowed to do it and the paperwork an inspector will ask to see.

4. Make sure staff training is covered

Spain dropped the compulsory *carnet de manipulador* back in 2010: since Royal Decree 109/2010, it's the business that has to be able to show staff received adequate food handling training, not a card each employee carries. Food handler training and certification in Spain explains what actually needs to be on file for each new hire before their first shift.

5. Get your allergen information right from day one

EU Regulation 1169/2011 requires every dish to carry allergen information from the moment it's on the menu, whether that's written on the menu itself or given verbally with a written record backing it up. Allergen labelling rules for restaurants in Spain sets out both routes and which one actually fits a small kitchen.

A quick checklist before you open

• Business registered as a food operator with the right authority for your activity and region.
• Written HACCP plan, including the prerequisite plans it depends on.
• Signed contract with an authorised pest control (DDD) company, not a one-off treatment.
• Food handling training on file for every member of staff, even without a physical carnet.
• Allergen information ready for every dish on the menu, in writing or with a backed-up verbal process.

Put these five together and most of what a health inspection in Spain checks is already covered on day one, instead of being assembled under pressure after the first visit.