Finland: food inspections

Chef Hygiene follows the Finnish Food Act (297/2021), the hygiene decree 318/2021 and the Finnish Food Authority’s guidance, and the municipality inspects and publishes the result in the Oiva scheme.

Inspection body

Municipal food control (kunnan elintarvikevalvonta), led by the Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto)

The municipal food control inspects restaurants (Food Act 297/2021, § 27). The Regional State Administrative Agency guides and checks the municipalities. The Finnish Food Authority (Ruokavirasto) leads the work nationally. A restaurant is a registered food activity, and you must tell the municipality at least 4 weeks before you start.

Visits are mostly unannounced. How often depends on the risk: guidance gives a restaurant cooking from raw animal food 0.5 to 2 inspections a year by size. You pay a yearly base fee of EUR 150 plus the municipality’s hourly fee. After faults the inspector can order a correction, ban food or the activity, close a registered activity if an order is ignored, or set a conditional fine. A sanction fee of EUR 300 to 5,000 applies for example for no own-check, no registration or no traceability.

Hygiene rating

Yes: Oiva, the national scheme. Four grades: A Oivallinen (excellent), B Hyvä (good), C Korjattavaa (to be corrected) and D Huono (poor). The weakest item sets the result. The latest report must be shown at the entrance, on your website and where you sell food online, and results are public on oivahymy.fi.