The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Finland is responsible for the preparation of legislation concerning food and agriculture and is also responsible for the monitoring of its implementation. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has thirteen agencies and institutes within its administrative sector. The most important one concerning enforcement practices and import policies for agricultural products is the Finnish Food Safety Authority EVIRA. The Food Safety Authority implements control duties and steers control, carries out research and risk assessment, provides communication services and engages in international cooperation, in order to ensure the quality and safety of food products as well as of the production input of agriculture and forestry, the health and well being of animals, and plant health.
Finland is a member of the European Union (EU) and Finnish food legislation is, to a large extent, harmonized with the EU’s food legislation. It is, however, important to note that there can be some exceptions. For example, Finland is allowed (in addition to Sweden) to apply stricter salmonella controls than the other EU member countries. Finland is granted additional salmonella guarantees covering trade in fresh meat from bovine and porcine animals, fresh poultry meat, table eggs and minced meat.
This report provides an overview of Finnish food legislation where it differs from EU legislation. For information on EU legislation, please refer to the USEU FAIRS Report.
