There is no product-specific legislation applicable to ice cream. The Ministry of Trade and Industry Decision on ice cream (4/1999; amendment 1226/2002) was repealed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Decree on requirements for certain food products (264/2012, amendment 308/2013). The Decree entered into force on 1 July 2012.
National regulation (Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Decree 264/2012) has not seen the need to regulate ice cream separately. There are also no requirements applying to ice cream in EU legislation.
The labelling and other information provided in connection with the sale of pre-packed ice cream (and also ice cream mix) must comply with general labelling requirements and, where appropriate, with the general guidelines of the International Ice Cream Association. Ice cream is stored at frozen temperature. The amount of ice cream content will continue to be expressed in units of weight (g or kg). The established names of ice creams, such as "kermajäätelö" (cream-based ice cream), "maitojäätelö" (milk-based ice cream) and "pehmytjäätelö" (soft ice cream), may continue to be used provided that the names are not misleading.
"Kermajäätelö" is an established name for a particular product with 12% milk fat, 3.5% milk protein and 34% total dry matter.
In the 1980s and 1990s, only cocoa powder could be used in chocolate ice cream. Finland has had the Decree on Ice Cream (108/1981), which laid down what ingredients could be added to ice cream. Cocoa is one of the ingredients mentioned in the Decree. The name chocolate ice cream presumably has its roots in the cocoa contained in the ice cream in the Decree referred to. Ministry of Trade and Industry Decree 451/2003 regulates the name of chocolate for cocoa and chocolate products. It is therefore considered that if ice cream is sold under the name of chocolate ice cream, the ice cream should also contain chocolate.