Finland

Ministerial responsibility for food and feed safety is centralised in Finland within the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MMM). It bears the policy and legislative responsibility, and plans and directs implementation and enforcement of food legislation. The MMM's responsibility for animal products encompasses all processing stages except distribution.

Ruokavirasto is a specialist authority operating under the MMM. It is responsible for planning, steering, developing and undertaking food control on a national level. It is also responsible for national risk assessments related to food, feed, animal health and plant health. The administrative sector of the MMM also encompasses the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), whose remit is to engage in research concerning agriculture and food economy. The Finnish Centre for Animal Welfare within Luke focusses on the improvement and maintenance of farm animal welfare and risk assessments related to it.

Three governmental authorities operate National Reference Laboratories within the MMM's administrative sector, pursuant to Regulation (EU) No. 2017/625.

The MMM appoints the National Nutrition Council that issues national nutritional recommendations. The MMM additionally directs and oversees the LVV, TUKES and SYKE within its administrative sector, but these authorities do not operate directly under the MMM. 

In the food sector, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (STM) is responsible for the majority of public health and nutrition policy, including legislation on drinking water, GMO propagation, irradiation and radioactivity. The Board of Gene Technology at STM is responsible for coordinating activities under the EC genetic engineering directives. The STM coordinates health impact assessment related to use of nanomaterials and -technology.

The administrative sector of the STM also encompasses other government authorities such as the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), which undertakes research and risk assesment on public health and national nutrition, and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK), responsible for environmental risk assessments and other tasks. The STM additionally participates in guidance of the LVV despite it not directly operating under it.

Ruokavirasto (Finnish Food Authority), established in 2019, continues the activities of the Finnish Food Safety Authority (Evira). Ruokavirasto operates under the MMM and is the central authority on food and feed safety in Finland. Ruokavirasto plays a leading role in the development and implementation of the national food control programme covering the food chain from “farm to fork”. Some of the inspections are carried out directly by Ruokavirasto, but the main responsibility for the inspections is assigned to Economic Development Centres and municipal authorities. Ruokavirasto is additionally responsible for surveillance of animal health and welfare as part of environmental healthcare.

Ruokavirasto is also responsible for scientific risk assessments and conducts research on food safety. The risk assessments are conducted independently from risk management. Ruokavirasto also acts as the link to consumers and organises risk communication in the field of food safety.

The Finnish Zoonosis Centre located within Ruokavirasto forms a cooperation body between Ruokavirasto and the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). This ensures close cooperation between relevant experts in the field of food safety as well as animal and public health. The centre coordinates the monitoring of zoonoses, foodborne outbreaks, and antimicrobial resistance and also compiles the results.

Ruokavirasto’s area of work extends beyond food safety to include, for instance, veterinary medicinal product residues. The regulatory agency for veterinary drugs, however, is the Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea).

The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency (Tukes) supervises and promotes technical safety and conformity, together with consumer and chemicals safety in Finland. Tukes is the regulatory agency for pesticides and it assesses the risks of pesticide residues. Tasks related to pesticides are under the remit of Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland.

The Finnish Supervisory Agency (LVV) was founded in 2026 to take on duties of the previous Valvira (National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health), Regional State Administrative Agencies and environmental healthcare of ELY centres (Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment). LVV operates under the Ministry of Finance, but its guidence is multi-ministerial. LVV is responsible for licensing and permits, supervision, registration, enforcement, and guidance tasks across various fields. Regarding food the authority supervises beverages with above 2.8 % alcohol content, quality and monitoring of household water ,and implementation of environmental healthcare.

Finnish Customs operating under the Ministry of Finance is the competent authority for the import of food of non-animal origin. Ruokavirasto controls the import of animal-based foodstuffs such as meat, fish and milk. Customs monitors international carriage of perishable foodstuffs and special equipment to be used for such carriage in accordance with the ATP agreement. Customs also inspects some combined foodstuffs, which include refined animal-based ingredients in addition to ingredients of plant origin.