The European Union (EU) is facing criticism from Spanish farmers and companies over the lack of imposition of food safety and sustainability requirements on products imported from Morocco. Despite the EU encouraging these standards for community producers and marketers, these rules are not applied to products from third countries like Morocco. This situation has led to concerns over health alerts with products exceeding maximum phytosanitary residue levels, as seen with Moroccan peppers. The case of contaminated peppers in Almería, leading to a crisis, highlights the need for stricter import controls. Spanish farmers argue that this situation undermines their products and creates an uneven playing field, with Morocco's tomatoes enjoying preferential treatment in the EU market, despite the trade association agreement not being enforced and the need for its review post-Brexit.