· 4 min
Spain's food-waste law: what hospitality operators need to know in 2026
Since April 2025, Ley 1/2025 requires prevention, measurement and public reporting of food waste. Who's affected, what to do, and how forecasting supports the plan.
Ley 1/2025 (the Spanish food-loss and waste prevention law) came into force on 2 April 2025 and applies to all hospitality businesses in Spain. One year in, authorities are entering the phase of systematically auditing reporting compliance.
What the law actually requires
First: a prevention hierarchy. Prevention before donation before processing before animal feed before compost before disposal. Discarding food without having checked the higher tiers is non-compliant. Second: measurement. Discarded quantities must be tracked per service category – not just "total waste" but broken down. Third: a plan. Larger venues must publish a written prevention plan with specific measures and an annual reduction target. Fourth: annual public reporting.
Who's actually affected?
The strictest duties kick in at 50+ employees – also consolidated across multiple sites. A restaurant with 12 staff has lighter duties than a hotel-restaurant group with 200 employees in five venues. But: the donation-priority and the general prevention principle apply to everyone. Fines are tiered – "leve" several thousand euros, "grave" into five figures, "muy grave" into six figures.
How forecasting supports the plan
Better daily forecasting reduces mise-en-place waste directly. Conservative estimate: 5–7 % less discard after 12 months is realistic when staffing and inventory are planned more tightly per shift. More importantly: it's measurable and documentable. Operators who can prove reduction have a credible plan – and are prepared for stricter follow-on regulation.
Quick-start checklist
One: check the employee threshold (50+ consolidated?). Two: at least roughly estimate current discard quantities and build out tracking gradually. Three: identify donation partners – e.g. Banco de Alimentos, local NGOs. Four: fill in the plan template, define at least one reduction target. Five: review the forecasting that drives per-shift mise-en-place. Six: publish the annual report in Q1 of the following year. If you take point five seriously, point four almost takes care of itself.