The Food and Economic Safety Authority (ASAE) has opened six criminal proceedings for the commission of trafficking offences.
ASAE seizes more than 3,500 food products containing 'cannabis sativa'
Saturday, 10 January 2026RSS
Context & Explainers
ASAE is the Autoridade de Segurança Alimentar e Económica (Authority for Food and Economic Safety), Portugal’s agency responsible for food-safety inspections, market surveillance and enforcement against illegal economic activity. It can inspect premises, seize unsafe or non-compliant goods, issue fines and stop sales — so businesses, restaurants and importers must comply with its rules and consumers can report problems to it.
An administrative offence (infração administrativa) is a breach of regulatory or administrative rules handled through administrative procedures rather than criminal courts, usually resulting in fines, warnings or operational sanctions. In this case ASAE inspected 626 tourism businesses and opened 42 administrative proceedings for non-compliance, so business owners and service providers in tourism should ensure they meet legal requirements to avoid penalties.
The Food and Economic Safety Authority (Autoridade de Segurança Alimentar e Económica) — commonly called ASAE — is Portugal’s national inspectorate that enforces food safety, consumer protection and economic crime prevention; it inspects businesses, orders product withdrawals and can issue fines. For expats, ASAE is the body that publishes official recall notices (like today’s infant formula withdrawal), coordinates with EU alert systems and tells you whether to stop using, return or report a specific batch.
