Estado actual de los criterios microbiológicos aplicables a los productos alimenticios: revisión de la normativa vigente europea y española

Regulation 178/2002, from the 28th of January 2002 establishes that the basic objective of food legislation is to guarantee a high level of public health protection. This is guaranteed by control from origin, planning and formulation of the product, implementation of good hygiene habits in all the production stages, and finally, by the use of a self-control system based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) as stated in the Regulation 852/2004, from the 29th of April 2004, which includes the observance of the microbiologic criteria for food products. The enforcement of the Regulation 2073/2004, from the 15th of November, related to the microbioiologic criteria applicable to food products, opens a new regulating scope which includes not only the microbiological criteria for the market product but also those related to the hygiene of the process; making it necessary to harmonize national and European regulation. This study brings together in one document the microbiologic criteria applicable to food products under the various categories of the Spanish Food Code. The results obtained from the ckecking stage, show that the microbiologic criteria of the different groups of food in Spain, those included in the Regulation 2073/2004 and those ruled by the Spanish existing regulation are different; and therefore, it is necessary to widen the regulation in order to cover all the existing products in the market.