ASESORÍA Y CONSULTORÍA SANITARIA, S.L.(ACONSA)

ACONSA (Asesoría y Consultoría Sanitaria, S.L.) is a specialist microbiology testing laboratory headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, with additional offices in Madrid and Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands). The laboratory focuses on microbiological analysis across four primary domains—food and beverages, water, environmental air quality, and cosmetics—serving food manufacturers, water system operators, facility managers, healthcare institutions, and industrial clients throughout Spain. ACONSA's stated mission centers on public health protection, and the laboratory partners with companies in the food, sanitary, and industrial sectors to maintain optimal safety and quality levels in commercial products while ensuring compliance with current Spanish and European regulations.

In the food and beverage sector, ACONSA delivers comprehensive microbiological testing for food safety control and product quality assurance. The laboratory holds ISO 17025 accreditation for the detection and enumeration of key pathogenic microorganisms—specifically Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella, and Escherichia coli—in accordance with European food safety legislation, including Regulation (EC) No. 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs. Services include investigation of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods, detection of Salmonella in meat preparations and other food matrices, and general hygienic-sanitary microbiological screening. The laboratory also provides allergen management services covering both EU-mandated allergens and client-specific targets, supporting food manufacturers in meeting labelling transparency and consumer safety requirements.

Shelf-life and expiration date studies constitute a further food-sector offering at ACONSA. The laboratory conducts real-time shelf-life evaluations as well as challenge tests (estudios de vida útil y caducidad) to determine product stability under realistic and stressed storage conditions. These studies allow food manufacturers to substantiate best-before dates, refine preservation strategies, and support product registration. ACONSA's flexible service model enables food businesses to integrate microbiological controls directly into their food safety plans (planes específicos de seguridad alimentaria), providing systematic and audit-ready monitoring throughout the production chain.

Water analysis is a core competency at ACONSA. The laboratory is ISO 17025-accredited for the microbiological control of drinking water and for Legionella detection and quantification in all risk installations covered by Spanish Royal Decree RD865/2003 and the UNE 100030:2017 standard. Water matrices analyzed include potable water supply systems, swimming pools and wellness facilities, cooling towers and refrigeration circuits, closed-loop water circuits, and wastewater. ACONSA's Legionella control programs investigate Legionella presence across all sample matrices specified in the relevant legislation, helping operators prevent outbreaks and demonstrate compliance with Spain's national legionellosis prevention framework. Swimming pool and wellness zone self-monitoring programs further help facility operators maintain documented, accredited compliance records.

Environmental air quality testing—referred to in Spain as Calidad del Aire Interior (CAI), or Indoor Air Quality—is the third pillar of ACONSA's service portfolio. The laboratory holds ISO 17025 accreditation for environmental microbiology and performs microbiological monitoring in clean rooms (salas blancas), operating theatres (quirófanos), and other controlled-air zones. Analyses include airborne viable particle counts, surface sampling, and settle-plate environmental monitoring in healthcare, pharmaceutical, and industrial clean-room settings. Beyond routine monitoring, ACONSA's technical staff are qualified auditors for CAI in buildings and workplaces, enabling the laboratory to support full facility qualification and compliance with occupational health requirements for controlled environments.

In cosmetics, ACONSA performs microbiological quality control on finished products across a wide range of categories, including creams, soaps, solutions, and makeup (maquillajes). Testing is designed to verify preservative efficacy and product safety in line with applicable European cosmetics legislation, confirming that formulations meet microbiological limits throughout their intended shelf life. These services support both new-product release testing and ongoing batch surveillance for cosmetic manufacturers, ensuring compliance with EU consumer safety requirements and helping brands protect product durability and integrity.

Aconsa holds two formal quality credentials: ISO 9001:2015 certification for its overall quality management system, and ENAC (Entidad Nacional de Acreditación) accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 under scope reference 962/LE1805. ENAC is Spain's national accreditation body and a full signatory of the EA (European Cooperation for Accreditation) multilateral agreement, meaning accredited results carry pan-European recognition. The laboratory publishes separate Quality Policies for ISO 9001 and ISO 17025, reflecting its commitment to transparent quality governance. Operating from offices in Sant Joan Despí (Barcelona), San Sebastián de los Reyes (Madrid), and Cala Major (Palma de Mallorca), ACONSA serves clients across the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands with a geographically distributed service network and a flexible analytical model that adapts to each client's sampling schedule, regulatory context, and specific analytical requirements.