Lorraine Williamson
Two updates published this week won’t make many front pages. But together they sketch a clear picture of where food safety in Spain — and across Europe — is heading in 2026: a stubborn fight against antibiotic resistance in common bacteria, and a cautious “yes, but…” on one of the world’s most widely used sweeteners.
Spain’s food safety agency AESAN has highlighted both developments, drawing directly on new work from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Antibiotic resistance: the problem that won’t stay in hospitals
The first update centres on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella and Campylobacter — bacteria often linked to foodborne infections. The new EFSA–ECDC report finds resistance remains widespread across Europe, even as some countries show progress in cutting resistance levels in certain settings.
EFSA’s public briefing is blunt about why this matters. When bacteria become resistant, infections can be harder to treat and treatment options narrow. The report also leans on the “One Health” idea: human health, animal health and food production are tied together, so the solution can’t sit in one sector alone.
The headline for readers is not panic. It’s persistence. This is a long, grinding public-health challenge that sits quietly behind everyday food systems.
Sucralose: safe as used now, but heat changes the question
The second update concerns sucralose (E-955) — around 600 times sweeter than sugar — used in many “no sugar” or “reduced sugar” foods and drinks.
EFSA’s conclusion: sucralose remains safe under its current authorised uses in the EU, and the acceptable daily intake stays at 15 mg per kg of body weight per day, with exposure estimates below that level.
Where EFSA draws a firm line is expansion into uses involving high temperatures for prolonged periods. A recent study raised the possibility that heating sucralose for long enough could lead to the formation of chlorinated compounds with uncertain health effects. EFSA says it cannot confirm safety for new uses that would involve sustained high heat — including certain industrial baking processes — and flags that similar concerns may apply to some high-heat home cooking methods.
In other words, safe in the current rulebook, but not a green light to use it everywhere.
What this means at the supermarket in Spain
For most people, neither update requires dramatic changes at the checkout.
AMR is mainly a reminder that food safety is bigger than “best before” dates. Hygiene, prevention of infection in animals, responsible antibiotic use, and surveillance all matter — and the benefits are often invisible when they work.
On sucralose, the message is more practical. If you consume products containing E-955, EFSA is not telling you to stop. It is signalling that how an ingredient is processed can change the risk picture, and that regulators need to be cautious about expanding approvals into high-heat uses.
The regulatory backdrop: Spain’s “control chain” reset
AESAN is also preparing a wider discussion about how Spain polices the food chain, with a public-facing event on 25 March focused on the Plan Nacional de Control Oficial de la Cadena Alimentaria (PNCOCA) 2026–2030 and new strategies linked to Real Decreto 562/2025.
For readers, this is the institutional side of the same story: keeping food systems safe depends on what happens in farms, factories, transport and retail — not just in kitchens.
Where regulators draw the line next
The next steps are largely regulatory.
On AMR, the key will be whether the countries reporting improvements can sustain them — and whether lagging areas tighten controls on antibiotic use and infection prevention in food-producing animals.
On sucralose, EFSA has handed the question back to the European Commission and Member States: if the EU wants to broaden permitted uses, it will need answers on what happens when sucralose is repeatedly heated or baked.
For Spain, this is what modern food safety looks like: less drama, more data — and a slow shift towards policies that treat human, animal and environmental health as one connected system.