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On September 1, 2025, Spain will launch the country’s new independent whistleblower protection authority - Autoridad Independiente de Protección del Informante (AIPI).  This is part of the implemention of Law 2/2023  This law generally applies to companies of 50 employees or more although there are nuances and caveats in the scope of application.  Companies do not necessarily have to be domiciled in Spain to fall within scope - it also applies to foreign-registered companies operating in Spain.  If you are unsure if you are within scope of the law then the advice is to check.

The AIPI brings in new new obligations regarding internal reporting systems and the designation of responsible officers.

From 1 September, companies in scope will have two months to notify the AIPI of the appointment or removal of their designated internal reporting system officers. Although the law does not yet specify the format or platform for these notifications, it is expected that the AIPI will issue operational guidance shortly after its launch.

The AIPI is designed to be a central enforcement and support body with broad powers, including:

• Managing the external reporting channel for whistleblowers.
• Providing protection and support to individuals who report misconduct.
• Initiating and resolving sanctioning procedures for violations of Law 2/2023.
• Issuing circulars and recommendations to guide best practices in whistleblower protection and compliance.
• Developing public sector crime prevention models, which may influence private sector compliance standards

Source - Baker McKenzie blog on Lexology site

Testing for honey authenticity often requires a panel of different analytical approaches, none of which is conclusive but each giving an increasing degree of suspicion.  Some of these approaches involve high cost specialist equipment and bespoke reference databases.

In this paper (purchase required) the authors propose a panel of three tests using relatively cheap and accessible equipment.  They developed a new high-performance liquid chromatography diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) method for the precise quantification of HMF, and coupled this with analysis of glucose, fructose, saccharose, and maltose using a HPLC with refractive index detection (HPLC-RI) plus diastase activity (DA) using the established Schade method.

They applied their approach to 65 commercial Spanish honey samples, reporting significant compliance with EU regulatory standards, yet also uncovering some suspicions of adulteration.

Photo by Roberta Sorge on Unsplash

On 11 August, the environmental protection service of the Spanish civil guard SEPRONA announced the seizure of 45 tons of illegally treated tuna fish. Four people were investigated and face possible criminal penalties of up to four years in prison for endangering public health, as well as administrative sanctions. The investigation has so far uncovered three companies and three fishing vessels involved in the fraudulent scheme.

Investigators found that frozen tuna only suitable for canning had been illegally treated with substances that enhance the colour and then been diverted to the market to be sold as fresh fish. This treatment can pose a serious public health risk associated with allergic reactions to histamine.

The investigation was coordinated by EUROPOL under the OPSON VII operation, in collaboration with the European Commission and other Member States, which was previously reported on the Food Authenticity Network in May 2018.

Criminal investigations are ongoing.

For more information on this case including the European Commission's contribution and information on other successful outcomes for EU coordinated cases.