Foodstuffs

Food control offers guidance and advice for companies and residents, and supervises food services. The area of operations includes Hailuoto, Kempele, Liminka, Lumijoki, Muhos, Oulu and Tyrnävä. Please contact food control if: 

• You might have food poisoning

• Your customer has food poisoning, or your food operation has caused some other health risk 

• You are establishing new food operation or ending existing operation 

• Business owner is changing 

• You are designing significant changes on food premises structures or operation 

• You have to recall foodstuffs from the market 

• You have questions about food operation. 

Systematic Control and Oiva 

Food control supervises food sector businesses systematically using inspections and sampling. The inspections are primarily implemented as surprise inspections, meaning that they are organized without advance notice. 

The goal of food control is to ensure the safety of foodstuffs and food contact materials and good quality of foodstuffs mandated by the Food Act, and thus protect the health of consumers and economic interests. Another goal of the control is to make sure that all information offered about foodstuffs and food contact materials is truthful, sufficient and does not mislead consumers. The supervision is implemented systematically, and an annual control plan is compiled. The control plan is a part of the Environmental Office's control plans.

A majority of food control’s inspections are Oiva-inspections. The results of the inspection are compiled as an inspection report for the service provider and as an Oiva report for the customers. The food sector service provider must place the newest Oiva report in a place visible to customers by the entrance of the food premises or in some other comparable place. The Oiva report must also be displayed on the company’s website. The Oiva reports are published on oivahymy.fi.

A service charge for food control

An annual payment is charged from the objects of food control. The basic charge of the control is 150€ annually. The payment is charged from the objects of control that were in the Environmental Office’s registry on the first day of the year.  

The service charge is charged from all approved food establishments and registered food operations. When there is more than one food operations operated by the same food operator at one premises, only one service charge is charged.  

Village shops, non-profit organisations and small-scale food establishments processing reindeer and game meat will be exempt from the charge. Primary production and food processing carried out as part of it will also be exempted.  

Further information about annual service charge from the Finnish Food Authority website (in Finnish).