CSIC and Ramón Areces Foundation: 5 years of research on fungi and mycotoxins for Spanish vineyards

Key data

The Spanish wine sector has on the table a long-term research project that can redefine how fungal and mycotoxigenic risk is managed in vineyards. The Resolution of June 19, 2026 from the CSIC publishes the agreement signed with the Ramón Areces Foundation to develop the project «Fungal competition and mycotoxigenic risk in Spanish vineyards under climate change: towards sustainable viticulture». It is not a regulation of mandatory compliance for wineries, but rather a clear signal of where regulation is heading in terms of food safety and agricultural sustainability.

What does this regulation establish?

The agreement formalizes collaboration between two institutions with well-differentiated roles:

• CSIC / IATA: Executes the research project. The beneficiary researcher is assigned to the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC) for the entire duration of the agreement.
• Ramón Areces Foundation: Provides financing through the Talent Return Program 2025, without establishing a direct employment relationship with the research team.

The objective of the project is to study fungal competition (how different fungal species compete in the vineyard) and mycotoxigenic risk (probability that these fungi produce mycotoxins harmful to health) under climate change scenarios affecting Spain.

The agreement includes specific obligations for the beneficiary researcher:

• Communicate any institutional transfer to the Ramón Areces Foundation.
• Obtain prior authorization from the Foundation before any change of institutional assignment.

The framework that makes this agreement possible is the Talent Return Program 2025, designed to repatriate consolidated researchers who were developing their careers abroad, incorporating them into Spanish public research centers with private funding from foundations like Ramón Areces.

Economic and operational impact

This agreement does not generate direct costs or immediate obligations for wine sector companies. However, its medium-term operational and economic implications are relevant:

• Food safety: The project results may lead to new maximum limits for mycotoxins in grapes and wine, or more stringent control protocols that wineries will have to adopt.
• Agricultural sustainability: Research on fungal competition can translate into recommendations for fungicide use, cultivation practices or more resistant varieties, with direct impact on production costs.
• Climate change adaptation: The project's conclusions five years from now can influence strategic planning by wineries and cooperatives in the face of adverse climate scenarios.
• Access to results: As this is public research financed by a private foundation, results will likely be open access and applicable by the sector without additional licensing costs.

Who does it affect?

• Spanish wine wineries and cooperatives: Potential beneficiaries of results in fungal risk management and climate change adaptation.
• Wine exporters: Food safety and mycotoxin limits are key requirements in international markets (EU, USA, Asia). Advances in this field can facilitate or condition access to those markets.
• Control and certification bodies: Laboratories, inspection entities and designations of origin that apply food safety protocols in grapes and wine.
• Scientific researchers: The Talent Return Program 2025 opens a path for reincorporation to Spain for researchers abroad specialized in mycology, viticulture or food safety.
• Public research organizations: The CSIC-private foundation agreement model can be replicated in other projects under the same program.

Practical example

A winery with vineyards in a Designation of Origin area affected by increasingly warm and humid summers detects in its annual analyses a progressive increase in the presence of Aspergillus in the grapes, a genus of fungus that produces ochratoxin A (a mycotoxin regulated in the EU). Currently, the winery applies standard fungicide treatments, but does not know which fungal species compete with each other in its vineyard and which are the most dangerous under the new climate conditions.

The IATA-CSIC project, during its 5 years of duration, will generate predictive models of mycotoxigenic risk adapted to Spanish vineyards under climate change. When those results are available, the winery will be able to use them to optimize its treatments, reduce costs of unnecessary fungicides and anticipate possible stricter regulatory requirements regarding ochratoxin A in wine.

What should companies do now?

1. Identify if your company operates in areas of high fungal risk: Review mycotoxin analyses from recent years to detect upward trends, especially ochratoxin A and aflatoxins, which are the most regulated in grapes and wine.
2. Follow the results of the IATA-CSIC project: Subscribe to publications from the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC) to access project advances as they are published over the next 5 years.
3. Review current food safety protocols: Ensure that mycotoxin controls in grapes and wine comply with current European regulations, anticipating possible updates resulting from new scientific evidence.
4. Evaluate climate change adaptation in the business plan: Incorporate growing fungal risk as a variable in the strategic planning of the winery or cooperative, especially in areas with warmer and more humid summers.
5. Explore the Talent Return Program 2025: If your company collaborates with research centers or universities, this program can be a way to attract specialized researchers with private foundation financing, without direct labor costs for the host institution.

Official source

Notice: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-14003