13 Information Provided on Foods

All Oiva evaluation guidelines for approved food establishments.

13.1 Mandatory food information (packaged and unpackaged foodstuffs)

Guide/version: 2173/04.02.00.01/2021/7, valid from 1.7.2021

To be taken into consideration:
This point is to be controlled when general, mandatory labelling is provided for mass caterers and end consumers in compliance with the Food Information Regulation (No. 1169/2011, Degree 834/2014 of the ministry of Agriculture and Forestry), as well as in cases where the operator

manufactures, has manufactured for it and/or packages food products
brokers (e.g. an agency business), imports and/or markets prepacked food products it imports (from the internal market and/or third countries)
sells food products in distance selling
sells unpackaged food products in a retail store
sells/serves unpackaged meals in a facility of a mass caterer.

This assessment is also used when controlling

the labelling ”high-in-salt” or “high salt content” on foodstuffs
the use of identification marking
information for indicating the country of origin or place of provenance of the primary ingredient of a food.

It is recommended that the following points are controlled at the same time 10.1 Separation and Cross-contamination, 13.2 Nutrition Labelling, 13.4 Information of Meat Required by Specific Legislation and 13.5 Information of Fishing and Aquaculture Products Required by Specific Legislation and 13.6 Indication of country of origin for milk, and milk and meat used as ingredients in food.

The indication of the country of origin for beef, pork, sheep and goatmeat, poultry meat and minced meat made from the species in question and fishery and aquaculture products are addressed as a separate point in points 13.4 and 13.5.

Voluntary claims have been transferred to Oiva-section 13.3 during 2020.

The adequacy and suitability of own-check activities and, where appropriate, the plan is controlled by applying the Annex to Guideline 1.6: "Adequacy and Suitability of Own-check Activities".

Matters to be controlled:
The implementation of own check activities is evaluated by random checks (on e.g. 1-3 packages of different products and/or batches of loose foods, taking the scope and nature of operations into consideration) of the following matters:

Compliance with requirements which can be verified by means of, for example:

inspections of labelling, recipes and documents
where necessary, analysis certificates and/or own check activities tests.

1. Control of compliance of labelling with regulations, i.e. is the information provided in the labelling/label formally correct:

information can be read without difficulty (x-height of the font size equal to or greater than 1.2 mm; exception x-height of the font size equal or greater than 0.9 mm in case of packaging the largest surface of which has an area of less than 80 cm²)
mandatory labelling information is provided in Finnish and in Swedish (only unilingual labelling is required on products marketed in unilingual municipalities)
the mandatory information required by Article 9 of the Food Information Regulation includes:

a) the name of the food
b) the list of ingredients
c) any ingredients causing allergies or intolerances emphasised in the list of ingredients (Food Information Regulation, Annex II)
d) the quantity of certain ingredients or categories of ingredients (if applicable)
e) the net quantity of the food
f) the date of minimum durability (best before) or the use-by date, and the date of freezing, if applicable
g) any special storage conditions and/or conditions of use (if applicable)
h) the name or business name and address of the food business operator
i) the country of origin or place of provenance, if applicable (Food Information Regulation, acc. to Article 26)
j) instructions for use (where required)
k) the actual alcoholic strength by volume for beverages containing more than 1.2% by volume of alcohol
l) (the nutrition labelling is evaluated in 13.2).

In addition, the labelling shall contain the following:

lot number
salt indication and high-in-salt indication, and indication of iodine in the list of ingredients if iodised salt is used
an identification mark in food products of animal origin
the application of specific labelling requirements for primary ingredients: (1) the existence of an indication of the country of origin or place of provenance of the final food; and (2) that such indication of the country of origin or place of provenance of a food is not the same as that of its primary ingredient.

The indications are formally correct; additives, for example, are designated both by the name of the category and the specific name or E number of the additive, and allergens are emphasised in the list of ingredients.

Sale of loose foods in a retail store:

a) the name of the food
b) substances and products causing allergies or intolerances
c) ingredients
d) the country of origin or place of provenance (similarly as for packaged products)
e) instructions for use and storage (if applicable).

In addition, the amount of fat and salt in cheeses, sausages and other meat products used as deli meats and the amount of salt in bread. The labelling “high salt content” on foodstuffs shall be notified in writing.

This information does not need to be reported on food directly supplied by the manufacturer of small quantities of products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer.

Sale/serving of loose foods in a catering establishment:

a) the name of the product (in writing)
b) substances and products causing allergies or intolerances
c) The country of origin of fresh, chilled or frozen meat used as an ingredient in the meal (in writing).

This information can in retail stores and catering establishments be provided on unpackaged food products also verbally, provided there is a poster or similar in the vicinity of the food product stating that information can be obtained from the staff on request. The information must then be in written or electronic form. By way of derogation from this the labelling “high salt content” on foodstuffs shall be notified in writing in a retail store and the name of the food and the country of origin of the meat used as an ingredient in the meal shall be notified in writing in a catering establishment. The country of origin means the country of rearing the animal from which the meat was obtained.

The mandatory information on loose foods must be provided at least in Finnish or in Swedish.

Prepacked and non-prepacked foods marketed in distance selling (Food Information Regulation, Article 14 and the Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 834/2014, section 2).

All mandatory general labelling, except the date of minimum durability or the use-by date (or the date of freezing and batch number), shall be available before the purchase is concluded and shall appear on the material supporting the distance selling or be provided through other appropriate means clearly identified by the food business operator. All mandatory information shall be available at the moment of delivery. It is a requirement for non-prepacked foods to adhere to the nutrition information which is usually required for non-prepacked foods in a retail store or a catering establishment.

2. Verification of the accuracy of labelling by means of an inspection of the recipe taking into consideration the ingredients used, and/or product specifications:

recipes are up-to-date and complied with in production
recipes/manufacture/finished product are mutually consistent
the name of the food is correctly formed
the ingredients used are indicated in the list of ingredients
the break-down of compound ingredients is correctly presented in the list of ingredients
ingredients causing allergies or intolerances are indicated
the ingredients are in the correct order
the indicated quantity of the ingredient is correct
the origin of the food is correctly indicated.

Excellent: Operations are in line with the requirements. Operations comply with requirements.

The labelling presented above complies with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. The information is marked in such a way as to be easily visible.

Good: There are small issues with the operations which do not impair food safety or mislead consumers. There are small issues with the operations which do not impair food safety or mislead consumers.

Operation is mainly implemented in compliance with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. There are some minor shortcomings in labelling, such as:

the list of ingredients does not follow the correct order of quantity
the water used is not indicated in the list of ingredients (water need not be indicated if the amount of water does not exceed 5% by weight of the finished products, with the exception of meat, meat preparations, unprocessed fishery products and unprocessed bivalve molluscs)
the name of the category for an additive is not indicated or is incorrect.

To be corrected: There are issues with the operations which impair food safety or mislead consumers. These issues must be rectified within a set period of time. There are issues with the operations which impair food safety or mislead consumers. These issues must be rectified within a set period of time.

There are several essential defects and/or deficiencies in labelling, such as:

a misleading name of the food
the country/region of origin is not indicated or is incorrect
the best-before indication is not provided or is incorrect
the quantity of the emphasised ingredient is not indicated
the additives contained in the product are not indicated in labelling, although they serve a technological function in the finished product
the recipe used is not consistent with the labelling.

Poor: There are issues with the operations which jeopardise food safety or considerably mislead consumers, or the operator has failed to comply with orders that have been issued. These issues must be rectified with immediate effect. There are issues with the operations which jeopardise food safety or considerably mislead consumers, or the operator has failed to comply with orders that have been issued. These issues must be rectified with immediate effect.

Labelling is missing completely or there are defects that require immediate rectification or recall, such as:

very unclear, illegible labelling
failure to indicate allergens
a required warning or instructions for use are not provided, which causes a severe health hazard
the use-by date is not indicated or is incorrect (wrong month or year, for example)
instructions for storage are not provided or are incorrect (microbiologically perishable)
the required Finnish or Swedish labelling is not provided.

Legislation and guidelines (with any amendments) pertaining to the subject:

Regulation (EC) 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety; Articles 17-19
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers
Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin, Article 5 and Annex II (Section I)
Food Act 297/2021, Sections 1, 2 and 6
Decree (318/2021) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on food hygiene, Sections 10 and 23
Decree (834/2014) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the provision of food information to consumers (1042/2016 and 154/2019)
Decree (1010/2014) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the labelling of certain foods to intensive salt
Finnish Food Authority's Guide 17068/2. Food Information Guide for food control authorities and food sector operators
Finnish Food Authority's Guide 17055. Guide for control of labelling
Commission implementing regulation (EU) 2018/775 (from 1.4.2020).

Updates in version 7:

To the item “to be taken into consideration” has been added “Voluntary claims have been transferred to Oiva-section 13.3 during 2020”.
The Food Act and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry's decree (795/2014) have been updated.
Guideline no 2173/04.02.00.01/2021 is replaced by guideline no 10241.

13.2 Nutrition Labelling

Guide/version: 2174/04.02.00.01/2021/7, valid from 1.7.2021

manufactures, has manufactured and/or packages food products
brokers (e.g. an agency business), imports and/or markets prepacked foods it imports (from the internal market and/or third countries)
sells prepacked foods in distance selling.

As of 13 December 2016, the nutrition labelling referred to in the Food Information Regulation is mandatory on almost all prepacked foods. If the products have been packaged as from 13 December 2014 and bear the nutritional declaration on a voluntary basis, or if the labelling contains nutrition or health claims, or if the food has been fortified with vitamins and/or minerals, the nutritional labelling shall comply with the Food Information Regulation (derogation dietetic products until July 2016, foods for particular nutritional uses after that). (The nutrition labelling referred to in the Food Information Regulation is not applied to food supplements, natural mineral water, spring water, and not required on the foods listed in Annex V to the Food Information Regulation.

It is recommended that point 13.1 Mandatory food information is controlled at the same time.

The adequacy and suitability of own-check activities and, where appropriate, the plan are controlled by applying the Annex to Guideline 1.6: "Adequacy and Suitability of Own-check Activities”.

Matters to be controlled:
The implementation of own-check activities is evaluated by random checks (on e.g. 1-3 packages of different products and/or batches of loose foods, taking the scope and nature of operations into consideration) of the following matters:

Compliance with requirements which can be verified by means of, for example:

inspections of labelling, recipes and documents
where necessary, analysis certificates and/or own-check activities tests.

1. Control of compliance of labelling with regulations, i.e. is the nutrition declaration provided in the labelling/label formally correct:

information can be read without difficulty (x-height of the font size usually at least 1.2 mm)
labelling information is provided in Finnish and in Swedish (only unilingual labelling is required on products marketed in unilingual municipalities)
nutrition information is expressed per 100 g or 100 ml of the food
the mandatory nutrition labelling contains the following information: energy kJ/kcal, fat (g), saturated fats (g), carbohydrates (g), sugar (g), protein (g) and salt (g)
labelling information is presented formally correctly, for example, those nutrients are indicated that may be indicated in the actual nutrition declaration (Food Information Regulation, Annex XV)
for vitamins and minerals, both their amount and percentage of the daily reference intake are declared (Food Information Regulation, Annex XIII)
the order of the declaration of nutrients is followed (Food Information Regulation, Annex XV).

If the information declared in mandatory nutrition labelling is repeated on a voluntary basis, the requirements laid down in Articles 30.3 and 33.2 of the Food Information Regulation shall be complied with. If the nutritional value is expressed per portion or consumption unit, the mandatory nutritional content has to be expressed per 100 g or 100 ml as well.

Prepacked foods marketed in distance selling (Food Information Regulation, Article 14)

The nutrition labelling, like all mandatory general labelling, except the date of minimum durability / the use-by date (or the freezing date and batch number), shall be available before the purchase is concluded and shall appear on the material supporting the distance selling or be provided through other appropriate means clearly identified by the food business operator. All mandatory information shall be available at the moment of delivery.

2. Verification of the accuracy of labelling by means of an inspection of the recipe taking the ingredients used into consideration, and or product specifications:

recipes are up-to-date and complied with
the amounts of nutrients declared are based on calculations or laboratory analyses or on some other generally established and accepted data
the amount of salt is calculated and determined based on sodium (salt = sodium x 2.5). Both sodium occurring naturally in the ingredients and sodium from added salt are taken into account in the amount of salt.
the vitamins and minerals contained in the food are correctly indicated.

Excellent: Operations are in line with the requirements. Operations comply with requirements.

The nutrition labelling presented above complies with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. The information is marked in such a way as to be easily visible.

Operation is mainly implemented in compliance with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. There are some minor shortcomings in nutrition labelling, such as

There are some minor errors in nutrition labelling, but notwithstanding these, it is possible to verify the compliance of the product with requirements; nutrition information, for example, is declared in an order that completely differs from the order specified in the Regulation
the amount of energy is expressed only in kilocalories or kilojoules.

There are some essential defects and/or deficiencies in nutrition labelling, such as:

the recipe used is not consistent with the labelling.
nutrition labelling in Finnish or Swedish is not provided
nutrition labelling is unclear and illegible
nutrients that are not allowed to be declared are declared.

The issues related to nutrition labelling do not result in an immediate risk to food safety or seriously mislead the consumer. For this reason, the grade Poor is only awarded in case the grade To be corrected has been awarded repeatedly and the shortcomings have not been rectified within the set deadline.

Legislation and guidelines (with any amendments) pertaining to the subject:

Regulation (EC) 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety; Articles 17 - 19
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers, Articles 8, 29 - 35, and Annex V
Food Act 297/2020, Sections 1, 2 and 6
Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the provision of food information to consumers (834/2014), Section 4
Finnish Food Authority's Guide 17068/2. Food Information Guide for food control authorities and food sector operators
Finnish Food Authority's Guide 17055. Guide for control of labelling
Commission Guidance (December 2012): Guidance document for competent authorities for the control of compliance with the following EU legislation https://ec.europa.eu/food/food/labelling-and-nutrition/food-information-consumers-legislation_en.

Updates in version 7:

The Food Act has been updated.
Guideline no 2174/04.02.00.01 /2021 is replaced by guideline no 10242.

13.3 Marketing

Guide/version: 2175/04.02.00.01/2021/5, valid from 2.1.2024

To be taken into consideration:
Food marketing, i.e. general misleading of marketing and voluntary claims, are controlled in this section

on the package labelling, if the operator is responsible for the package labelling, i.e. It is the manufacturer, the operator who has the product manufactured, importer (from the internal market or from third countries)
distance selling, if the operator engages in distance selling of food, for example in online shopping, mobile applications, sales platforms, social media, etc.
in marketing materials, if the operator has produced them or is otherwise responsible for them, such as presentation, menus, advertisements, websites, social media, commercial co-operation, etc.

In accordance with Article 6 of the Regulation, a food business operator presenting a nutrition or health claim must justify the use of the claim. In other words, the operator must be able to provide evidence that the claims used are permitted and used as required by legislation.

It is recommended that points 13.1 Mandatory Food Information and 13.2 Nutrition Labelling are inspected at the same time. The adequacy and suitability of own-check activities and, where appropriate, the plan are controlled by applying the Annex to Guideline 1.6: "Adequacy and Suitability of Own-check".

Matters to be inspected:
The implementation of the in-house control is evaluated by random checks of for example 1-3 product marketing, taking the scope and nature of operations into consideration. At regular intervals, the marketing carried out by the operator should also be examined comprehensively (e.g. marketing not related to individual products).

The following are checked on the labels used by the operator at the time of the inspection, information provided in distance selling, marketing materials and other food information:

No claims requiring recall that pose a risk to the health of the consumer are presented, for example:
- the marketing of a food for the treatment of a disease in such a way that the appropriate medical treatment may be replaced by the consumption of the food,
- the food is alleged to be erroneously gluten-free, milk-free, etc.
No medical claims are made. (Food Information Regulation, Article 7.3)
- Food information shall not give, nor refer to, any indication that a food has properties that prevent, treat or cure human diseases.
No prohibited claims under Article 3 of the Regulation are made. A claim shall not
- be false, ambiguous or misleading,
- give rise to doubt about the safety and/or the nutritional adequacy of other foods,
- encourage or condone excess consumption of a food,
- state, suggest or imply that a balanced and varied diet cannot provide appropriate quantities of nutrients in general,
- refer to changes in bodily functions which could give rise to or exploit fear in the consumer.
No prohibited claims under Article 12 of the Regulation are made where:
- it is suggested that health could be affected by not consuming the food,
- there is a reference to the rate or amount of weight loss
- claims which make reference to recommendations of individual doctors or health professionals and other national associations of medical, nutrition or dietetic professionals and health-related charities not referred to in Article 11.
The nutrition and health claims used are approved.
- The nutrition claim is found in the annex to the nutrition and health claims regulation.
- The health claim can be found in the Commission's claim register as authorised, on the so-called waiting list for plant-based substances or a transitional period has been granted for discontinuing the use of the claim.
The wording of the claims corresponds to the accepted claims.
The terms and conditions for the use of claims are met in the product.
The mandatory food information required for the use of claims is provided in both packaging and distance selling in Finnish and Swedish.
- The amount of the substance covered by the nutrition or health claim is indicated in the nutrition labelling or on the list of characteristic substances in food supplements. (Article 7)
- A mention of the importance of a balanced and versatile diet and healthy lifestyles required for the use of a health claim. (Article 10(2)a)
- Information required for the use of a health claim on how much food must be consumed and how often it must be consumed in order to obtain the claimed benefit. (Article 10(2)b)
- Where appropriate, when using a health claim, a notification to persons who should avoid the consumption of the food. (Article 10(2)c)
- An appropriate warning required for the use of a health claim in products that are likely to pose a health risk if consumed in excess. (Article 10(2)d)
- As regards health claims to reduce a disease risk factor, it has been reported that the disease to which the claim is referring has multiple risk factors and altering one of these may or may not have a beneficial effect. (Article 14(2))
- An approved health claim or a health claim on the so-called waiting list has been presented in connection with general health claims. (Article 10(3))
- A nutrition or health claim corresponding to the provisions of the Regulation has been made in connection with trademarks, trade names and fictitious names considered as claims. (Article 1(3))
- A nutrition or health claim corresponding to the provisions of the Regulation has been presented in connection with images, symbols and graphic presentations containing claims.
Marketing is truthful and does not mislead. (Article 7.1 of the Food Information Regulation, Article 16 of the General Food Regulation)
- In particular, the image of the food, and voluntary claims not covered by the Regulation (e.g. lactose-free, additive-free).

Excellent: Operations are in line with the requirements. Operations comply with requirements.

Food marketing and voluntary claims are used in compliance with the above requirements.

Food marketing and voluntary claims are mostly used in compliance with the above requirements. There are some minor shortcomings, such as:

the nutrition and health claims used are authorised, but their wording does not have the exact same meaning as the original authorised claims,
generic expressions, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representations, product names, brand names etc. that can be seen as claims, and a claim explaining it are not in the same field of vision on the packaging and they are not connected with an asterisk (*), for example,
the amount of the substance referred to in the claim is indicated somewhere else and not in the nutrition declaration or in the same field of vision with it, or for food supplements in the list of characteristic substances,
the additional labelling required by Articles 10(2) a-b to be used with a health claim is provided, but is deficient,
the additional statement required by Article 14(2) to be used with health claims that refer to reduction of disease risk is provided, but is deficient,
the operator is unable to justify the use of claims, but there is no suspicion that the claims used are prohibited or used in violation of the law.

NOTE: if the operator does not rectify the above-mentioned deficiencies or is able to justify the use of claims, the grade Improvements Required is awarded.

Food marketing and voluntary claims are not used in compliance with the above requirements and there are some essential shortcomings related to their use, such as:

the marketing and/or image created of the food mislead the consumer,
the claims are used misleadingly,
the no additives or lactose-free claim is incorrect,
individual medicinal claims are used,
claims prohibited by Article 3 or Article 12 are used,
unauthorised nutrition and health claims are used,
generic expressions, pictures, symbols, graphic representations, product names or brand names that are considered to be claims are used without a specific authorised claim (taking into consideration, however, the transition period referred to in article 27(2) for trademarks and brand names existing before 1 January 2005),
the conditions defined for the use of claims are not fulfilled; for example, the product does not contain an adequate amount of the substance referred to in the claim,
the amount of the substance referred to in the claim is not indicated,
the additional labelling required by Articles 10(2) a-b to be used with a health claim is not provided at all, or the additional labelling referred to in Articles 10(2) c-d) is provided, but is deficient,
the additional statement required by Article 14(2) to be used with health claims that refer to reduction of disease risk is not provided,
there is strong suspicion that the claims used are not allowed or used in violation of the law and, despite requests, the operator cannot justify the use of the claims.

Poor: There are issues with the operations which jeopardise food safety or considerably mislead consumers, or the operator has failed to comply with orders that have been issued. These issues must be rectified with immediate effect. There are issues with the operations which jeopardise food safety or considerably mislead consumers, or the operator has failed to comply with orders that have been issued. These issues must be rectified with immediate effect.

There are shortcomings in the food marketing and voluntary claims that require immediate rectification, and defects that in some cases require a recall.

Such shortcomings requiring immediate rectification include:

several or repeated medicinal claims that are in violation of food information regulation Article 7.3, are made on the food,
marketing of the food is seriously misleading,
the additional labelling regarding instructions for use and warnings, required by Articles 10(2) c-d to be used with a health claim, is not provided at all,
the improvements required assessment has been given repeatedly and the deficiencies have not been corrected within the given time period.

Defects requiring a recall are found in the marketing of foods, such as:

the gluten-free or milk-free claim is incorrect or
medicinal claims that may cause a health hazard to the consumer are made in the marketing of the food, for example because the foodstuff is marketed for the treatment of a specific disease giving rise to the suspicion that as a result of such marketing, appropriate medical treatment will be replaced with consumption of the foodstuff.

Legislation and guidelines (with any amendments) pertaining to the subject:

Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council on nutrition and health claims made on foods (= Claims Regulation)
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers (= Food Information Regulation), Article 7.1 and 7.3
Regulation (EC) 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (= Food Regulation); Article 16
Commission Register of authorised health claims https://ec.europa.eu/food/food-feed-portal/screen/home
Register of the European Food Safety Authority EFSA of questions related to health claims under assessment https://open.efsa.europa.eu/
Nutrition and Health Claims on the Food Authority’s web site https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/en/foodstuffs/food-sector/food-information/nutrition-and-health-claims/
Finnish Food Authority’s Guide 621/04.02.00.01/2023. Nutrition and Health Claim Guide (in Finnish)
Finnish Food Authority’s Form 7651/04.02.00.02/2023. Form for review of health claims (in Finnish)
Finnish Food Authority’s Guide 17068. Food Information Guide for food control authorities and food sector operators.

Updates in version 5:

Simplified language and appearance of instructions.
A note was added to the matters to be inspected that the marketing carried out by the operator should also be examined comprehensively at regular intervals.
A note has been added to the matters to be inspected that the mandatory food information required for the use of the claims must be provided in both packaging and distance selling in Finnish and Swedish.
Added a mention that the Good grade may change to the Improvements Required grade if the operator does not, despite the notice, rectify the issues, or is able to justify the use of the claims.
Examples of the operator's inability to justify the use of claims were added to the grades.
Corrected addresses of Commission and EFSA registers and FFA guidelines numbers.

13.4 Information of Meat Required by Specific Legislation (Beef, and the meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry and minced or ground meat of these animals)

Guide/version: 2176/04.02.00.01/2021/4, valid from 1.7.2021

To be taken into consideration:

This point is to be controlled, where the following foods are concerned:

beef or beef product or minced beef (fresh/chilled/frozen)
meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry, or minced meat of these animals (fresh/chilled/frozen)

and when general labelling is provided for mass caterers and end consumers in compliance with the Food Information Regulation (No. 1169/2011, Degree 834/2014 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) in cases where the operator

manufactures, has manufactured and/or packages food products
brokers (e.g. an agency business), imports and/or markets prepacked foods it imports (from the internal market and/or third countries)
sells packaged food products in distance selling
sells unpackaged food products in a retail store.

Control particularly concerns information on the country of origin for beef and the meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry, and minced meat containing the meat of these animals, as well as information on the composition of industrially packaged minced meat of these animals.

The labelling of beef refers to the labelling of carcases and quarters, wrapping or packaging of cut and minced beef, and the sale of loose beef in retail stores. The diaphragm and the masseters are part of the skeletal muscles. The fat removed from the carcass before weighing, the muscles of the head (other than the masseters), the viscera, the tongue, and the muscles of the carpus, the tarsus and the tail are excluded from the scope of the beef labelling provisions.

The labelling provisions for beef as well as for the meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry do not apply to meat preparations and meat products.

The labelling requirements of general labelling legislation shall otherwise be applied to the information provided in labelling and in the sale of loose meat or minced meat.

It is recommended that the following points be controlled at the same time 8.5 Production of minced and ground meat, 13.1 Mandatory food information, 16.2 Labelling and Traceability of Beef, and 16.8 Traceability of Meat of Swine, Poultry, Sheep and Goats.

The adequacy and suitability of own-check activities and, where appropriate, the plan are controlled by applying the Annex to Guideline 1.6: "Adequacy and Suitability of Own-check Activities”.

Compliance with requirements which can be verified by means of, for example:

inspections of labelling, recipes and documents
where necessary, analysis certificates and/or own check activities tests.

1. Compliance of indication of origin on packaged and cut beef or a beef product or minced beef with requirements; mandatory labelling includes:

consignment identification
indication of origin
indication "slaughtered in" (minced beef: the approval number of the slaughterhouse is not indicated)
indication "cut in" (only for cut beef)
indication "produced in" (minced beef only: the approval number of the production establishment is not indicated).

2. Indication of country of origin (or place of provenance) for packaged meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry (fresh, chilled, frozen) and minced meat containing the meat of these animals

For animals born, reared and slaughtered in one country, information on the country of origin (or place of provenance) can be provided with a single indication: "Origin: name of member state or third country and the batch code (consignment identification)
In other cases information on the origin of meat is to be indicated in compliance with Article 5 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 with regards to "Reared in: (name of member state or third country", "Slaughtered in: (name of member state or third country)" and "batch code".
For minced meat, the indications defined in Article 7 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 are to be used.

3. Specific indications regarding the composition of minced meat

Packaged minced meat shall be labelled with the following specific indications (Food Information Regulation No 1169/2011, Annex VI, Part B):

"fat content less than…",
"collagen/meat protein ratio less than...".

The composition of minced meat is monitored at the establishment (fat content and collagen/meat protein ratio) to verify the validity of the designation of minced meat:

lean minced meat (fat content ≤ 7 %, collagen/meat protein ratio ≤ 12 %),
minced pure beef meat (fat content ≤ 20 %, collagen/meat protein ratio ≤ 15 %)
minced meat containing pigmeat (fat content ≤ 30 %, collagen/meat protein ratio ≤ 18 %)
minced meat of other species (fat content ≤ 25 %, collagen/meat protein ratio ≤ 15 %).

Evidence provided by the operator is sufficient when they present recipe calculations based on, for example, the generally established fat and collagen contents of cut beef and pigmeat used in minced meat of beef and pigmeat.

1. The following information is provided on beef and meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry imported from third countries, if all information on country of origin is not available or only part of the information is available:

Reared in: non-EU state
Slaughtered in: (Name of third country where the animal was slaughtered).

2. Unpackaged beef and meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry (fresh- chilled, frozen) or minced meat containing the meat of these animals, sold from a service counter:

Information corresponding to the information on origin provided in the labelling of meat packages shall be provided in the immediate vicinity of beef or minced beef sold loose, e.g. on a separate board, indicated in a visible manner, excluding the approval numbers of the slaughterhouses and cutting plants.
Information corresponding to the information on origin required to be provided on packaged products shall be indicated in a visible manner in the immediate vicinity of meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry and minced meat of these animals sold loose, e.g. on a separate board. This information can also be provided verbally, provided the consumer is informed in a clear and easily visible manner at the point of service that the information can be obtained from the staff on request. The information must be available at the point of service to the staff and the control authority in written or electronic form.

Excellent: Operations are in line with the requirements. Operations comply with requirements.

The labelling presented above complies with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. The information is marked in such a way as to be easily visible.

Operation is mainly implemented in compliance with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. There are some minor shortcomings in labelling, such as:

there are some minor shortcomings in indications of origin, but notwithstanding these, it is possible to verify the compliance of labelling with requirements.

There are several essential defects and/or deficiencies in labelling, such as:

indications of origin are unclear or too small
the indication of origin is not provided
mandatory specific labelling has several essential shortcomings
industrially packaged minced meat does not show the "fat content less than…" and/or "collagen/meat protein ratio less than..." -indication
the fat content or collagen/meat protein ratio of minced meat exceeds the permitted maximum amount
there are shortcomings in the composition data related to the designation of minced meat.

Labelling is missing completely or there are defects that require immediate rectification or recall, such as:

the name of the product is indicated misleadingly wrong
the origin of the product is indicated misleadingly wrong.

Legislation and guidelines pertaining to the topic:

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers, Articles 17 and 26, and Annex VI, Part B
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1825/2000 laying down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the labelling of beef and beef products
Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the indication of the country of origin or place of provenance for fresh, chilled and frozen meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry
Food Act 297/2021, Sections 1, 2 and 6
Decree No 434/2008 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the labelling of beef
Decree 834/2014 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the provision of food information to consumers
Evira's Guide 16024/1. Labelling and traceability of beef
Finnish Food Authority´s Guide 17068/2. Food Information Guide for food control authorities and food sector operators.

Updates in version 4:

The Food Act has been updated.
Guideline no 2176/04.02.00.01/2021 is replaced guideline no 10324.

13.5 Information of Fishing and Aquaculture Products Required by Specific Legislation

Guide/version: 2177/04.02.00.01/2021/6, valid from 2.1.2024

To be taken into consideration:
This point is to be controlled where fishery or aquaculture products (fresh / frozen / dried / salted / smoked / charred) are concerned

and when general labelling is provided for mass caterers and end consumers in compliance with the Food Information Regulation (No. 1169/2011, Degree 834/2014 of the ministry of Agriculture and Forestry) in cases where the operator

manufactures, has manufactured and/or packages food products
brokers (e.g. an agency business), imports and/or markets prepacked foods it imports (from the internal market and/or third countries)
sells packaged food products in distance selling
sells unpackaged food products in a retail store.

Control particularly covers information on the country of origin of fishery and aquaculture products, but also other specific indications, such as the indication of the type of gear used.

The labelling requirement does not pertain to fish products, such as fish fingers and pickled herring, and spicy smoked products.

It is recommended that points 13.1 Mandatory food information and 16.9 Traceability of foods of animal origin.

The adequacy and suitability of own-check activities and, where appropriate, the plan are controlled by applying the Annex to Guideline 1.6: "Adequacy and Suitability of Own-check Activities".

The provisions of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) ensure that fish caught at sea and cultivated at sea are legally and sustainably produced. Another aim of the provisions is to ensure a level playing field for primary producers. In relation to food information, food information that violates the CFP, information related to reports on suspected infringements are recorded in the infringement register if the same operator has received two C ratings for the same deficiency or one D rating related to sea fish. In this case, an infringement report is submitted to the Finnish Food Authority using the Sanction system. The suspected infringement does not in all cases lead to an infringement fee. The infringement fee imposed for violations is at least 100 €. A natural person can be charged a maximum of 5,000 € and a legal person (e.g. a company) a maximum of 10,000 € as an infringement fee. The supervisory authority shall notify the suspected operator of the suspected infringement without undue delay.

Compliance with requirements can be verified by means of, for example:

inspections of labelling, recipes and documents
where necessary, analysis certificates and/or own-check activities tests.

1. Compliance of indication of origin for prepacked fishery and aquaculture products with requirements: mandatory information includes:

commercial designation and scientific name of the species
production method (designation "caught" (caught at sea) or "caught in freshwater" or "farmed"
catch area
- fish caught at sea must display the catch area,
  - name of major fishing area, e.g. Northeast Atlantic, Baltic Sea, Western Mid-Atlantic, Eastern Mid-Atlantic, Southwest Atlantic, Southeast Atlantic
  - derogation: fish caught in the Northeast Atlantic (FAO 27), Mediterranean or Black Sea (FAO 37) must display, instead of the major fishing area, the name of the sub-area (e.g. Western Mediterranean (area 37.1) or division (e.g. Sardinia (area 37.1.3). The area must also be indicated using a name that is easy for the consumer to understand, or a map or a pictogram indicating the area.
  - The FAO area number need not be indicated.
  - The FAO list of the major fishing areas, sub-areas and divisions (ICES) can be found on the FAO website at: http://www.fao.org/fishery/cwp/handbook/h/en.
  - http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/documentation/publications/cfp_factsheets/fishing_areas_en.pdf
- fish caught in freshwater must display both the country (state) of origin and the name of the body of water (river, lake)
- farmed fish must display the country of production, where maturing of the product has taken place. The farming area refers to the state where the product grew by more than half of its weight.
- mixed products of the same species caught in different catch areas / fish-farming countries must, at least, display the area / country of the batch that is more representative in terms of quantity, and indicate that products come from different areas / countries.

In addition, other specific labelling:

the date of minimum durability or the use-by date (only applied to prepacked) (Does not apply to fishery and aquaculture products eaten alive.)
type of fishing gear
- wild fish must display one of the following fishing gear categories used to catch the fish: "seines", "trawls", "gillnets", "surrounding nets", "lift nets", "hooks and lines", "dredges", "pots and traps".
- mixed products of the same species caught with different categories of fishing gear must display the fishing gear category for each batch (e.g. nets, seines). For example, when whitefish caught with different categories of fishing gear is marketed, an accepted indication is "caught with seine, trawl or hooks".
in addition, the label should indicate whether the product has been "defrosted". The indication "defrosted" is not required in the following cases:
- ingredients present in the final product
- foods for which freezing is a technologically necessary step of the production process
- fishery and aquaculture products referred to in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, Annex III, Section VIII, which have been previously frozen for health safety purposes
- fishery and aquaculture products which have been defrosted before smoking, salting, cooking, pickling, drying or a combination of these processes.
date of packaging (at least dd.mm): only applies to packaged bivalve molluscs.

2. Non-prepacked fishery and aquaculture products sold from service counter

Information corresponding to the specific information provided in the labelling of prepacked fishery and aquaculture products shall be provided in the immediate vicinity of fishery and aquaculture products sold loose, e.g. on an advertising board or poster, indicated in a visible manner, excluding the date of minimum durability period or the use-by date. Displaying the list of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of commercial names for the consumer to browse is an adequate method for the indication of the scientific name of the fish species.
The scientific name of the fish and the type of gear can also be provided verbally, provided a poster or similar in the vicinity of the food product indicates that the information can be obtained from the staff on request. This information must be available to the staff in written or electronic form. Information on the type of gear is provided in the information that accompanies the batch of fish, or otherwise available to the retailer.

Excellent: Operations are in line with the requirements. Operations comply with requirements.

The labelling presented above complies with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. The information is marked in such a way as to be easily visible.

Operation is mainly implemented in compliance with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. There are some minor shortcomings in labelling, such as:

there are some minor shortcomings in indications of origin, but notwithstanding these, it is possible to verify the compliance of the labelling with requirements.

There are several essential defects and/or deficiencies in labelling, such as:

indications of origin are unclear or too small
the indication of origin is not provided
mandatory specific labelling has several essential shortcomings.

Labelling is missing completely or there are defects that require immediate rectification or recall, such as:

the name of the product is indicated misleadingly wrong
the origin of the product is indicated misleadingly wrong
the information provided on the food is falsified.

Legislation and guidelines pertaining to the topic:

Act on the sanctions and control of the Common Fisheries Policy 2014/1188, Sections 11 and 50
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers, Articles 17 and 26, and Annex VI, Part B
Decree 834/2014 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the provision of food information to consumers
Regulation (EU) No 1379/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the common organisation of the markets in fishery and aquaculture products, amending Council Regulations (EC) No 1184/2006 and (EC) No 1224/2009 and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000, Chapter IV, Article 35
Food Act 297/2021, Sections 1, 2 and 6
Decree (1158/2018) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on permitted trade names of fishery and aquaculture products (updated by degrees 470/2020 and 108/2021 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry).
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1420/2013
Guide of the European Commission. A pocket guide to the EU's new fish and aquaculture consumer labels http://ec.europa.eu/fisheries/documentation/publications/eu-new-fish-and-aquaculture-consumer-labels-pocket-guide_fi.pdf
Finnish Food Authority`s Fishery products Guide for food control authorities and food sector operators 3039/04.02.00.01/2022
Finnish Food Authority`s Guide 17068/2. Food Information Guide for food control authorities and food sector operators.

Updates in version 6:

The considerations section has been updated regarding suspected infringements related to sea fish.
An example was added to the D rating section poor.
A reference to the act on the sanctions and control of the Common Fisheries Policy 2014/1188 has been added.

13.6 Indication of country of origin for milk, and milk and meat used as ingredients in food

Guide/version: 3288/04.02.00.01/2021/1, valid from 1.7.2021

To be taken into consideration:

This point is to be controlled, where the following foods packed and produced in Finland are concerned (degree 218/2017 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry):

foods containing beef, or meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry (or mechanically separated meat of these animals) as an ingredient of the food (e.g. meat preparations and meat products, and foods containing meat, such as pea soup, ham pizza and baby foods)
milk (milk of all animals, e.g. cow's, sheep's and goat's milk)
where milk* is used as an ingredient of milk products and certain comparable preparations. Such products include, for example,
- buttermilk, kephir, yoghurt, curdled milk, quark, and other comparable acidified or fermented milk products (flavoured and unflavoured)
- cream, including cooking cream, that has been processed and/or has had other ingredients added in it
- butter and other fats and oils derived from milk, and edible fats containing milk
- cheese (cured and uncured), processed cheese and cheese preparation.

*The country of origin of milk used as an ingredient is indicated for both liquid and dried milk (milk powder).

manufactures or has manufactured and/or packages food products.

A verbal indication of the country of origin can be replaced with the Hyvää Suomesta (Produce of Finland) label which is administered by Ruokatieto Yhdistys (Finfood – Finnish Food Information).

Information about the country of origin of a food can be provided in the list of ingredients or next to the list of ingredients, or where no list of ingredients is provided, in such a way as to be easily visible and clear.

The diaphragm and the masseters are part of the skeletal muscles. The fat removed from the carcass before weighing, the muscles of the head (other than the masseters), the viscera, the tongue, and the muscles of the carpus, the tarsus and the tail are excluded from the scope of the definition of meat.

It is recommended that the following points be controlled at the same time: 8.5 Production of minced and ground meat, 13.1 Mandatory food information, 13.2 Nutrition Labelling, 13.4 Labelling of meat required by specific legislation, 16.2 Labelling and Traceability of Beef and 16.8 Traceability of meat of swine, poultry, sheep and goats.

Matters to be controlled:
The implementation of in-house control is evaluated by random checks (on e.g. 1-3 packages of different products, taking the scope and nature of operations into consideration) of the following matters:

Compliance with requirements which can be verified by means of, for example:

inspections of labelling, recipes and documents
where necessary, analysis certificates and/or in-house control tests.

1. Indication of country of origin for meat

"Reared in: (name of Member State or third country)"

"Slaughtered in: (name of Member State or third country)"

The country where the animal is reared is defined as follows:

Beef: EU Regulation No 1760/2000, Art. 13;

Meat of swine, sheep, goats, poultry: EU Regulation No 1337/2013, Art. 5.

Examples:

beef (reared in: Finland, slaughtered in: Finland) or beef (reared and slaughtered in: Finland).

Where the animal has been born, reared and slaughtered in the same country, information about the country of origin CAN be made as follows:

"Origin: name of country" (name of Member State or third country).

Examples:

beef (origin: Finland), or beef (Finland), or Finnish beef, or
Hyvää Suomesta (Produce of Finland) label.

When the animals have been reared and/or slaughtered in several EU countries or third countries

"Reared in:

List of Member States and/or third countries, or
expressions "several EU countries" (or "EU"), "several third countries", or "several Member States and third countries".

"Slaughtered in:

List of Member States and/or third countries, or
expressions "several Member States" (or "EU"), "several third countries", or "several Member States and third countries".

Examples:

meat of swine (reared in: Finland and Denmark*, slaughtered in: Finland and Denmark*), mechanically separated meat of swine (reared in: Denmark and Germany*, slaughtered in: Poland and Germany*), or
meat of swine (reared and slaughtered in: several Member States), mechanically separated meat of swine (reared and slaughtered in: several Member States), or
meat of swine (reared and slaughtered in: EU), mechanically separated meat of swine (reared and slaughtered in: EU).

*the product shall always contain meat from animals reared and/or slaughtered in both country X and country Y

When the country where the animals have been reared and/or slaughtered varies, e.g. during the year

"Reared in: "several Member States" (or "EU"), "several third countries", or "several Member States and third countries"
"Slaughtered in: "several Member States" (or "EU"), or "several third countries", or "several Member States and third countries".

Examples:

broiler meat (reared in: several third countries), slaughtered in: (several third countries), beef (reared in: Sweden, slaughtered in: Sweden), or
broiler meat (reared in: several third countries, slaughtered in: several third countries), beef (reared in: Sweden, slaughtered in: Sweden), or
broiler meat (reared and slaughtered in: several third countries), beef (reared and slaughtered in: Sweden).

2. Milk, and milk used as an ingredient in milk products and comparable preparations

The country of origin is indicated as follows: "Milked in: (name of Member State or third country)".

Where milk/milk used as an ingredient has been milked, packaged and processed in the same country, the indication of the country of origin CAN be made as follows:

"Origin: name of country" (name of Member State or third country).

Examples:

skimmed milk (milked in: Finland), cream (milked in: Finland), or
skimmed milk (origin: Finland), cream (origin: Finland)*, or
an unequivocally comparable expression, e.g. milk (Finland)*, or "Finnish milk", or
Hyvää Suomesta (Produce of Finland) label.

*milk collected, packaged and processed in the same country.

When milk has been collected in several Member States or third countries:

Milked in: (list of Member States and/or third countries), or

expressions "several Member States" (or "EU"), "several third countries", or "several Member States and third countries".

Examples:

milk (milked in: Finland and Sweden)*, or milk (milked in: EU).

*The product shall contain both milk milked in country X and milk milked in country Y.

When milk has been collected in several Member States or third countries, and the countries vary:

Milked in: ("several Member States" (or "EU"), "several third countries", or "several Member States and third countries").

Examples:

milk (milked in: several third countries), skimmed milk powder (milked in: several Member States and third countries), or
milk (milked in: EU), skimmed milk powder (milked in: EU and several third countries).

Excellent: Operations are in line with the requirements. Operations comply with requirements.

The labelling presented above complies with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. The information is marked in such a way as to be easily visible.

Operation is mainly implemented in compliance with the aforementioned requirements laid down in legislation. There are some minor shortcomings in labelling, such as:

there are some minor shortcomings in indications of origin, but notwithstanding these, it is possible to verify the compliance of the labelling with requirements.

There are several essential defects and/or deficiencies in labelling, such as:

indications of origin are unclear or too small
the indication of origin is not provided
mandatory specific labelling has several essential shortcomings.

Labelling is missing completely or there are defects that require immediate rectification or recall, such as:

the country of origin of the product is indicated misleadingly wrong.

Legislation and guidelines pertaining to the topic:

Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1337/2013 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the indication of the country of origin or place of provenance for fresh, chilled and frozen meat of swine, sheep, goats and poultry
Food Act 297/2021, Sections 1, 2 and 6
Decree No 218/2017 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the indication of the country of origin of certain foods (updated by degrees 685/2019, 83/2020 and 361/2020 of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry).