Schreiber Foods expands its Talavera dairy plant with new environmental authorization

The General Directorate of Environmental Quality of the Department of Sustainable Development of Castilla-La Mancha has issued a new integrated environmental authorization (IEA) for the dairy derivatives factory of Schreiber Foods S.L., located in the municipality of Talavera de la Reina (Toledo). The resolution, signed on August 10, 2026, is published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha (DOCM) number 158, dated August 19, 2026, with reference 2026/6097 and file AAI-TO-359.

The new authorization responds to a substantial modification of the facility, which has increased from 5 to 11 production lines. The plant, which operates on the A-5 highway at P.K. 125, specializes in yogurts, fermented milks, dairy desserts, and fresh cheese, and now reaches a capacity of 195,027 annual tons of finished product.

Background and Processing

The plant has had an integrated environmental authorization since 2016, granted by the resolution of April 5, 2016, published in DOCM number 76, dated April 21. The application for expansion was submitted on September 6, 2018, incorporating six more lines into the production process, in what was termed “phase II” of the basic project.

On January 27, 2026, the General Directorate formulated the environmental impact report of the project (file PROSC-23-1064), published in DOCM number 25, dated February 6, 2026, concluding that the modification does not require an environmental impact assessment. The City Council of Talavera de la Reina issued a favorable report on April 9, 2026.

Criteria for Substantial Modification

The expansion is considered substantial because several criteria of greater environmental impact coincide:

• Increase of more than 50% in the production capacity of the activity.
• Increase of more than 50% in the consumption of water, raw materials, or energy, with an 82% increase in electrical energy consumption.
• Increase of more than 25% in the mass emission of some atmospheric pollutants.
• No unauthorized discharges to the public hydraulic domain, nor relevant increases in waste, are produced.

Along with this expansion, several non-substantial modifications have been processed and accepted by administrative silence, including the incorporation of an egg production line, the revision of continuous measurements at the treatment plant, and the installation of a self-consumption solar photovoltaic plant with a new degreasing system.

Technical Conditions and Emission Control

The facility must implement the best available techniques (BAT) set out in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/2031 of 12 November 2019 for the food, drink and milk industry. These include ISO 14001 environmental certification, the monitoring of discharges and atmospheric emissions, energy efficiency, and the management of noise and odors.

The plant has four channeled emission sources to the atmosphere (boilers and steam generators powered by natural gas), its own wastewater treatment plant, and a self-consumption photovoltaic installation. The estimated annual water consumption is 1,033,638 m³ and electrical energy consumption is 41.4 GWh/year, of which 3.89 GWh come from solar panels.

The resolution, signed by the Director General of Environmental Quality, Tomás Villarrubia Lázaro, requires Schreiber Foods to carry out a new environmental risk analysis to certify that it remains exempt from providing a financial guarantee, and to notify the person responsible for environmental management within one month.

Relevance for the region

The expansion consolidates the Talavera de la Reina plant as one of the largest dairy facilities in the region, with a direct impact on employment and agri-food activity in the area. The reinforcement of emission controls and the promotion of photovoltaic self-consumption align the factory with European sustainability standards in a strategic sector for Castilla-La Mancha.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 158, August 19, 2026, section III (Other provisions and acts), page 30515 (official reference: 2026/6097, file AAI-TO-359).