which grants the State exclusive authority over the foundations and general coordination of health. Thus, through Royal Decree 1021/2022, of December 13, which regulates certain hygiene requirements for the production and marketing of food products in retail establishments 14. The remaining autonomous communities have outdated regulations that, in no case, refer to this type of haute cuisine restaurant, but rather include them in the more general concept of catering establishments, which can include restaurants or bars with daily menus. This is said, by the way, with all due respect and admiration for the work they do, which is essential, along with other restaurants that offer a completely different service and that, as I argue here, can be considered a tourist resource or attraction. In this sense, I believe that the mechanism of the responsible declaration or prior notification as a control instrument may be sufficient to guarantee a minimum level of quality in the supply of catering establishments 15. I believe it is not necessary to wait for prior authorization or license, although what should really be used, in my opinion, is a form of simultaneous control that allows for verifying compliance with the minimum requirements in real time. As I have already stated on other occasions, the appropriate technology exists in the hands of public administrations to carry this out. The development and implementation of technological mechanisms should not be solely the responsibility of the private sector. The public sector must make a serious and adequate investment to develop technological applications that make the administrative control they are legally mandated to do more effective and efficient. In conclusion, and to conclude this section, I understand that the public administration’s mission to oversee haute cuisine restaurants can be understood to be fulfilled by using responsible declarations similar to those of more conventional establishments. The administrative oversight mission ends, in my opinion, with verifying compliance with minimum requirements that guarantee the health, preservation, and handling of food. The administration cannot 14 Article 2.2.a) defines a retail establishment as: “Retail establishment: one in which food is handled, prepared, processed or stored at the point of sale or delivered to the final consumer or to a community, on-site or remotely. This includes mobile or temporary premises (such as tents, stalls and street vending vehicles), support warehouses and facilities where sales are primarily carried out to the final consumer, as well as catering and hospitality establishments. Excluded are farms where primary products are sold directly and places where food is handled, prepared, stored and occasionally supplied by individuals for events such as religious, school, charity or municipal celebrations.” 15 For a more exhaustive analysis of this mechanism, together with prior authorizations, see my work CORRAL SASTRE, A. (2017), La liberalización del sector turístico ¿Hacia un modelo de turismo sostenible, Reus, [CORRAL SASTRE, A. (2017), The liberalization of the tourism sector: Towards a sustainable tourism model?, Reus]. 10 ALEJANDRO CORRAL SASTRE
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