Dr Juan José Guardia Hernández, senior lecturer of Administrative Law at UIC Barcelona and vice-dean of the Faculty of Law, has recently published the chapter entitled “Food alerts and precautionary principles twenty years on from the Spanish pomace oil crisis”. This work is included in the book La construcción de sistemas agroalimentarios sostenibles: propuestas desde el Derecho (The Construction of Sustainable Agri-Food Systems: Proposals from the Law), edited by Colex and directed by Dr Laura Salamero and Dr Antonio Ezquerra.

In this chapter, Dr Guardia analyses the controversial case of the Spanish olive pomace oil food alert in 2001, an episode that marked a turning point in the application of the precautionary principle in the field of food safety. Through a rigorous and critical approach, the author reflects on the ethical and legal conflicts derived from administrative risk management in situations of scientific uncertainty, highlighting the need to establish clear criteria that guide decision-making in this type of context. “The complete work, published by Colex, is a contribution to the analysis and design of sustainable agri-food systems from a legal perspective,” explains the lecturer.

This chapter by Dr Guardia is the result of the research project Ethical conflicts in the management of risks to human health in the face of scientific uncertainty, funded by the BBVA Foundation in the 2021 call for Grants to Scientific Research Projects. This project is developed within the framework of the research group GRE-Law, 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Recovery in Catalonia (RESCAT 2030).

This publication further strengthens UIC Barcelona’s commitment to research excellence and knowledge transfer in key areas of Administrative Law.

El professor Juan José Guardia a UIC Barcelona