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Food premises

A food premises is a building, apartment or part thereof in which food intended for sale or supply is prepared, stored, marketed, served or otherwise handled. A food premises must meet the requirements of the legislation in terms of its construction, equipment and operation.

Food establishments handling food of animal origin before retail sale (meat establishments, fish establishments, milk establishments, egg establishments and storage establishments) must obtain prior approval from the municipal food control authority. For other food premises, a written notification must be submitted to the municipal food control authority before the start of operations. Any change of operator, substantial change of activity, suspension or termination of activity must be notified to the supervisory authority.

Notification

The majority of food premises (kitchens, restaurants, barbecues, food shops, kiosks, bakeries except fish cake bakeries, vegetable preparation and packaging plants) are subject to written notification to the food control authority of the municipality where the food premises are located. The notification must be submitted at least four weeks before the start of the activity, a substantial change of activity or a change of operator. Suspension and termination of activities must also be notified without delay to the food control authority of the municipality where the establishment is located. The obligation to notify also applies to “agency” activities such as importing, brokering, manufacturing or similar activities, even if the operator does not have his own physical food premises.

Make the notification primarily electronically via the national environmental health notification service ilppa.fi. A sole trader or the company’s signatory, i.e. the company’s official representative, can log in directly to the Ilppa application using the suomi.fi login. For other users of ilppa, an authorisation from the official representative of the company is required in Suomi.fi, which can be done on the Suomi.fi website. More detailed instructions on how to use the Ilppa service can be found on the Food Authority’s website. In Ilpa, you will see the details of the establishment you have declared and any changes made to it after processing.

You can also submit the notification by e-mail by sending the completed notification to ymparistoterveys@siilinjarvi.fi or by mailing the completed paper form to Siilinjärvi Municipality, Environmental Health Services, P.O. Box 5, 71801 Siilinjärvi.

Please attach a floor plan of the food premises, complete with furniture and equipment.

The food premises notification is processed by the Authority. The processing includes a preliminary risk assessment of the food premises. At the end of the procedure, a notice of registration is sent to the operator. The Authority will charge a fee for the processing of the notification in accordance with the approved fee schedule. Registered food premises are subject to systematic food control. Inspections carried out after receipt of the notification will be subject to a control fee in accordance with the approved tariff.

For mobile food premises (mobile vehicles or other mobile sales premises, e.g. tents and vending machines) and virtual food premises, the notification is submitted to the supervisory authority of the food business operator’s municipality of origin.

Low-risk food safety operations are exempted from the notification obligation when

1. the operator is a private person (e.g. the sale of food prepared by private persons at home); or
2. the activity is not a commercial activity (e.g. school fairs, sale of food by hobby clubs); or
3. the activity is carried out in the same premises as other commercial activities carried out by the operator (e.g. offering coffee in hairdressing salons, selling caramels in gift shops)

Apply at

The application for a food premises and the self-monitoring plan for meat establishments, fish establishments, milk establishments, egg establishments and storage establishments must be submitted to the food control authority of the municipality where the establishment is located. Application forms are available from the Environmental Health Service.

The Authority will take a decision within 60 days of receipt of the application, unless the scope of the case, the incompleteness of the application or other specific reasons require a longer period. No substantial change in the operation of the installation may be made without the approval of the Authority. The decision to approve the establishment and the decision on the substantial modification of the activity are subject to a fee in accordance with the tariff.

To be approved, a food premises must meet the requirements laid down in the legislation in terms of its construction, equipment and operation. The approval decision may impose conditions necessary to prevent a health hazard. The approval decision and the self-monitoring plan must be kept in the food premises.

Contact materials

Food contact materials and articles, or contact materials, are materials and articles that are already in contact (directly or indirectly) or are intended to come into contact with food. Examples include food packaging, disposable containers, kitchen utensils, coffee and water machines, food processing equipment and disposable gloves.

Those placing contact materials on the market (manufacturers, wholesalers, importers and exporters) must notify their premises and activities to the food control authority of the municipality where they are located. The Authority enters this information in the control target register.