Food hygiene in Finland: implementing Reg. (EC) 852/2004

This page is the hub for Finland's implementation of Reg. (EC) 852/2004. It gives the overall picture and links to the detail pages and the other jurisdictions covered in the countries pillar.

The division of powers

Finland combines a national coordinating authority with execution at local level. Ruokavirasto (the Finnish Food Authority) is the national authority that steers, coordinates and harmonises the control system, but most day-to-day official controls of food premises are carried out by the municipal food control authorities (kunnan elintarvikevalvonta); the regional state administrative agencies also have a role. In our view this is what sets the Finnish case apart: whereas in the Netherlands the business deals with a single national authority, in Finland coordination is national but the actual counterpart is the municipality — an arrangement closer, as regards execution, to the decentralised models of Spain and Italy.

Registration and approval

Reg. 852/2004 requires every food business operator to notify each establishment to the competent authority for registration Article 6(2) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. In Finland this notification is made to the municipal food control authority where the establishment operates. Most businesses — bars, restaurants, retail shops — are subject only to registration. Establishments handling products of animal origin (slaughterhouses, cutting plants, dairies, fishery-product establishments) may instead be subject to approval under Reg. (EC) 853/2004 Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004: an express decision that verifies the requirements before start-up. The difference between the two is explained in the concept registration vs approval.

Self-checking, training and the hygieniapassi

Every food business must put in place self-checking procedures based on HACCP principles Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and ensure the training of staff who handle food Annex II, Chapter XII, point 1 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. The Finnish specificity is the hygieniapassi, a national hygiene competence certificate required of workers who handle unpackaged perishable foods: it is a national requirement, not a European title. The regulation allows Member States flexibility in applying HACCP principles Article 5(5) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 and encourages the development of national guides to good practice Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. For the current scope of the hygieniapassi you should rely on Ruokavirasto, bearing in mind the last-verified date of this page. The operational picture for training is covered in HACCP training in Finland.

Official controls and competent authorities

Official controls are organised under Reg. (EU) 2017/625 Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, which repealed the earlier Reg. (EC) 854/2004 and 882/2004. In Finland enforcement ordinarily falls to the municipal authorities, within the framework coordinated by Ruokavirasto; measures and penalties are based on the Finnish Food Act (elintarvikelaki). For a comparison between the Finnish arrangement and other models, see the countries pages and the country-comparison tool.