Groceries and markets in Spain: shopping like a resident

Food shopping is one of the first routines you build in Spain, and it looks different from a weekly run to a big US supermarket. Residents mix three kinds of shops: the neighborhood municipal market for fresh food, a supermarket for packaged goods and household items, and small specialist shops in between. This guide covers how that works in practice and the rules behind the bags, containers and labels you will meet at the checkout.

Municipal markets: the fresh-food backbone

Spanish cities run covered public food markets, and in many neighborhoods they are still the main place to buy fish, meat, fruit and vegetables. The Madrid City Council describes its municipal markets as a public service deeply rooted in the city's culture, with an important role as a reference point for traditional fresh-food retail and for the social life of each neighborhood. Its open data portal lists 46 markets in the municipal network, with address, contact details, opening hours, transport links and services for each one.

The council's market directory groups them by district. A few examples from that list:

• Centro holds several of the oldest markets in the city, including Anton Martin, Barcelo and La Cebada.
• Chamberi has Vallehermoso, built in 1930, along with Guzman el Bueno and Chamberi.
• Tetuan has the Maravillas market, open since 1942, which the council calls the largest in Madrid and one of the largest in Europe.
• Salamanca has La Paz, originally built in 1882 with an iron structure.
• Arganzuela and Hortaleza host producers' markets (Mercado de Productores), where farmers sell directly.

Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and smaller towns run their own market networks. Check your town hall's website for the list nearest your home.

### How buying at a market stall works

Each stall is an independent business: a fishmonger (pescaderia), a butcher (carniceria), a poultry stall (polleria), a fruit and vegetable stall (fruteria), a cheese or cured-meat stall (charcuteria). You pay each one separately. A few habits help:

• Ask who is last. At busy stalls there is often no ticket machine. Residents ask "quien es el ultimo?" and then follow that person.
• Order by weight or by piece. Prices are per kilo. Ask for "medio kilo" (half a kilo), "un cuarto" (a quarter kilo) or a number of pieces.
• Let the fishmonger prepare the fish. Cleaning, scaling and filleting are part of the service; say how you plan to cook it.
• Check the hours. Market hours are set per market and published in the council's directory.

Supermarkets for the rest

Supermarkets cover packaged food, drinks, cleaning products and toiletries. The bag and label rules below apply to supermarket online orders and home deliveries too.

Bags: you will pay for them

Bring your own bags. Spain's Royal Decree 293/2018 on reducing plastic bag consumption set the rules step by step:

• Since 1 July 2018, shops may not hand out plastic bags for free, with narrow exceptions, and must charge for each plastic bag and display the price.
• Since 1 January 2020, fragmentable plastic bags are banned, and thick bags (50 microns or more) must contain at least 50% recycled plastic.
• Since 1 January 2021, light and very light plastic bags may not be supplied at all unless they are compostable.

The decree says these measures cover bags handed out in shops and bags supplied with online and home-delivery orders. In practice, that is why fruit and vegetable sections offer compostable or paper bags, and why many residents keep a folding bag or a wheeled shopping trolley (carro de la compra) at home.

Your own containers are allowed

Spain's waste law, Law 7/2022 on waste and contaminated soils, goes further. Article 18 states that all food shops selling fresh products, drinks or cooked food must accept reusable containers brought by the customer (bags, food tubs, bottles and similar) that suit the product and are properly cleaned. The customer is responsible for their condition, and the shop can refuse containers that are visibly dirty or unsuitable. The same article requires food retailers of 400 square meters or more to devote part of their sales area to products sold without primary packaging, including bulk (granel) and reusable formats.

So you can bring a clean tub to the deli counter or the market's olive stall. Ask first; the shop must explain its conditions for cleanliness and suitability.

Reading Spanish food labels

Packaged food sold in Spain follows the EU's food information regulation, Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, which Spain's food safety agency AESAN notes has applied since 13 December 2014. The mandatory information covers the name of the food, ingredients, allergens, net quantity, the date marking, storage conditions and the operator's details, among other items.

### Two dates, two meanings

AESAN explains the difference, which trips up many newcomers:

• "Consumir preferentemente antes de" (best before). The date until which the food keeps its expected quality. After it, the food is still safe if stored as instructed and the package is intact, though it may lose flavor or texture. AESAN lists frozen food, flour, pulses, rice, pasta, biscuits, canned food, oil and honey as typical examples.
• "Fecha de caducidad" (use by). Used on highly perishable foods such as fresh fish, fresh minced meat and chilled ready-to-eat products. After this date, AESAN says the food should not be considered safe and should not be eaten. You can freeze food at home before it reaches this date to keep it longer.

### Allergens

Allergens in the ingredient list are highlighted, usually in bold. For food sold online, AESAN states that allergen information must always be provided before the purchase is completed and again on delivery. If you have a food allergy, learn the Spanish words for your allergen before your first shop.

### Units and storage

Everything is metric: grams and kilos, milliliters and liters, and temperatures in Celsius. Storage instructions, such as "una vez abierto, conservar en refrigeracion" (once opened, keep refrigerated), are part of the mandatory label, and AESAN stresses that they are based on technical information and matter for safety.

Eating with the seasons

Fruit and vegetable stalls change their displays through the year as Spanish harvests come in. Ask the stallholder what is in season this week and what is local; it is the quickest way to learn the calendar. Madrid's producers' markets, where growers sell directly, are a good place to see it.

Practical checklist for your first month

1. Find the municipal market nearest your home on your town hall's website and note its hours.
2. Buy a wheeled shopping trolley or a set of reusable bags.
3. Keep a couple of clean food containers for deli counters and bulk sections.
4. Learn the label words: ingredientes, alergenos, consumir preferentemente, fecha de caducidad, conservar.
5. Practice ordering by weight: un kilo, medio kilo, cien gramos.
6. Plan around each market's published hours, especially on Sundays and public holidays.

Common questions

Do supermarkets in Spain charge for bags? Yes. Under Royal Decree 293/2018, shops have been barred since July 2018 from giving plastic bags away free, and since January 2021 light plastic bags may only be supplied if compostable. Bring your own bags.

Can I bring my own containers to a shop in Spain? Yes. Law 7/2022 requires food shops selling fresh products, drinks or cooked food to accept suitable, clean reusable containers from customers. The shop may refuse ones that are visibly dirty or unsuitable.

What is the difference between consumo preferente and caducidad? According to AESAN, the consumo preferente (best before) date marks the end of expected quality; the food is still safe if stored properly. The caducidad (use by) date applies to highly perishable foods, which should not be eaten after it.

How many municipal markets does Madrid have? Madrid City Council's open data portal lists 46 markets in the municipal network, with hours, transport and services for each.