. Burgers with e -ci. Sausing with Listeria. Although it is considered the most robust in the world, sometimes some products contaminate and reach consumers. The Spanish Food Security Agency () is responsible for evaluating cases and sending alerts to citizens to avoid food poisoning. Since last October, Ana López-Santacruz (Madrid, 45 years old)-who directed the National Food Center for four years-is the executive director of the AESAN. “We give rigorous information to society to protect them from the risks that are in food,” he summarizes.
Ask. What has to happen to get a food alert to consumers?
Answer. The first, we must have information or indications that a food may not be safe for the population based on the result of a competent authority, or a self -control of a company, or a public body, or a complaint of an individual, or that a food is associated with a food outbreak.
P. All the food alerts we see in the media are?
R. Sometimes issues that are not, as a consumption recommendation for certain population groups, or a scientific opinion of the European Food Security Authority (EFSA), which is a scientific document that will then have consequences and will be used for legislation, but that is not an alert, are published as alert. Sometimes data of the fast food and feed alert system (Rasff), which is a fast information exchange system between member states and is to transmit information between states, but is not intended to warn the population. Border rejection means that these foods have not entered the internal market.
P. Why is there so much alarmism with food?
R. The last food security Eurobarometer published by the European Union in 2022 shows that more than 80% of the Spanish population cares about food security. They are also emerging influencers In food security, but they are not always well informed. It is important not to create noise so that when there really is an alert, people distinguish it.
P. Is it correctly reported on food security?
R. Not always. In the case of alerts there is a lot of misinformation yet. We are having breakfast with the press and disseminators to inform well from the technical point of view. The press has improved a lot, but there is still a margin of improvement.
P. . Why so many?
R. A distributor company detected it in self -control. Foods are controlled and when an indication of non -compliance is detected, measures are taken, production is paralyzed or immobilized, withdraws from the market and, if it has reached the population, communicates. In that self -control, salmonella was detected, which is a biological risk, and continued to investigate. The first thing that was done is to notify the authorities of the Autonomous Community and also companies. The decision was made to inform the population so that they did not consume those foods.
P. How many alerts do they usually send?
R. In January and February 2025 we have managed all that information from different sources in 143 notifications, of which we have classified 67 alerts, but only 10 (about 15%) have communicated to consumers, since they are the ones that have been distributed. In 2024, there were 856 notifications, which we considered that 397 were alerts, but only 99 alert publications were made to consumers.
P. Does companies warn when they find bacteria in their products?
R. Normally yes, especially in recent years, because they have understood the importance not only of fulfilling the law (which says they have to control all the foods they put in the market), but to communicate those failures. They evaluate and, if they see an incident, stop production. There they don’t have to communicate anything. But the analytics are not immediate, so when they see that this product is contaminated and have already distributed it, they are increasingly sincere and communicate it to protect consumers. If any does not, the Food Security Law provides sanctions.
P. How can we avoid future salmonla or Listeria outbreaks?
R. With a lot of training. Companies are increasingly aware and form their employees, from the food company to the restaurant, so that they understand how important cleaning is. The vast majority of biological risks are avoided with hygiene. The general population may be quiet and should not worry about the food it eats.
P. Are there recommendations for consumers?
R. We give many. You have to freeze at 20 below zero at least five days. With babies, you have to avoid chard in homemade purees until six months, because they can have a high nitrate content that is dangerous. Pregnant women and children up to 12 years should avoid [Pez espada, atún rojo, tiburón y lucio]because it affects neurological development. Tuna tuna is not included among those four, because it is smaller. The minced meat of hamburgers must be cooking well and that is not bleeding to avoid contamination by e-coli, as has happened with recently hamburger fairs.
P. Why do EFSA reports take so long to become legislation?
R. When EFSA publishes a scientific report, a debate process begins that takes into account economic, social, cultural factors. For example, EFSA has told us that we must protect the population of the mercury that is in food and that the fish mainly provides. The European Commission analyzes what the limit that is safe for the consumer should be, but that is not so low that we destroy an entire sector. With all that, you have to reach an agreement and a law. When it is fixed, the food is controlled and all food that overcomes it is removed. Since an EFSA report comes out until a regulation with a maximum established limit arrives, they can pass between two and five years.
P. Does the food that comes from third countries that are not European meets the same requirements as the food that occurs in Europe?
R. Yes. In the European Union we have very strict legislation, both for what is produced inside and for what comes from third countries. Its control depends on the Ministry of Agriculture. But European legislation protects in a similar way to all foods.
P. There are consumers who say that the recommendations are changing and it is not clear what to eat and what not.
R. The agency has two legs, food security (prevent people from getting sick due to food danger) and the recommendation of safe, healthy and sustainable diets with the environment. What happens is that science advances. When we publish our recommendations, we adjust to the last scientific evidence and how this at the end changes, there are nuances that we have to change in our recommendations.
