Medical certificate no longer mandatory

Until recently, every employee in the animal primary sector had to demonstrate, by means of a medical certificate, that their state of health allowed them to come into direct contact with foodstuffs. This requirement was set out in Annex II of the Royal Decree of 13 July 2014 on food hygiene.

However, a recently published decree has abolished the above requirement. Persons who now come into direct contact with foodstuffs are no longer required to present a medical certificate in order to carry out their activity in the food sector.
While a medical certificate may no longer be required, the food business operator must still comply with the provisions set out in Annex II, Chapter VIII of European Regulation 852/2004 on personal hygiene. Rules regarding good personal hygiene and clean clothing naturally continue to apply, as does the prohibition on coming into contact with foodstuffs if one is a carrier of a communicable disease.